U.N. School Celebrates Palestinian Stabbing of Jews

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and a toddler in al-Qassemite martyrs brigade regalia at a Hamas rally

A United National Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) school in Gaza City held a ceremony that celebrated stabbings of Jews by Arabs.

Elder of Ziyon, an American blogger and researcher who writes about antisemitism and the Arab-Israeli conflict, reported on March 7, 2016, that while “Israelis were being stabbed and run over daily by Palestinians,” the UNRWA school held a function on Oct. 20, 2015 that supported the attacks.

The blogger notes that timing of the ceremony leaves no doubt that it was “specifically to support the wave of terror that was then reaching its height.”

On his Web site, Elder of Ziyon shows pictures of UNRWA students—most of who appear to be younger than ten years old—holding signs praising attacks against Jews. The images were posted to the school’s Facebook page. Among them are:

A young girl, kneeling and holding a sign reading, “We heed your call, oh al-Aqsa, our blood and souls we will sacrifice for you, oh al-Aqsa.”

A smiling girl displaying a sign saying, “(We) are masters and not slaves, we are the ones from among whom a shahid [a “martyr”; someone killed while attempting a terrorist attack] is born every day.”

Two young boys jointly lift a placard: “My soul is a sacrifice for you, oh al-Aqsa, Jerusalem is in our hearts, al-Aqsa is in danger, everybody rise in order to save Jerusalem, let us join hands in order to liberate and save Jerusalem.”

Elder of Ziyon noted that none of the signs held by the children spoke of “despair” or any of the other excuses frequently offered by journalists and policymakers as the reason for Palestinian violence against Jews. Instead, the majority of the signs referred to the “al-Aqsa libel.”

As CAMERA has noted (“Incitement over Temple Mount Leads to Palestinian Violence, Again,” Sept. 16, 2015), that more than 80 year old libel consists of Palestinian leaders falsely claiming that Jews are somehow endangering the al-Aqsa mosque. This allegation has been used to provoke Arabs into attacking Jews in 1929, 1996 and 2000, among other instances. On Aug. 1, 2015, Abbas invoked the libel by claiming that Israel was seeking to “invent a history” regarding 3,000 years of Jewish connection to the Temple Mount, part of which is occupied by al-Aqsa mosque.

On Sept. 16, 2015 Abbas proclaimed on official PA TV: “The al-Aqsa [mosque] is ours…and they have no right to defile it with their filthy feet…We bless every drop of blood that has been spilled for Jerusalem, which is clean and pure blood, blood spilled for Allah, Allah willing.” The PA leader’s exhortations were followed by Palestinian terrorist attacks.

UNRWA schools and facilities have been used to promote hatred and murder of Israelis before, serving as a de facto employment and indoctrination bureau for the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) before in some cases being appropriated by Hamas. As CAMERA has noted (“Canadian Government Says Terrorists Can Receive Aid Funds,” Feb. 18, 2016), a recent debate erupted in Canada’s parliament over funding UNRWA after it was pointed out that the U.N. organization’s payroll included employees drawing antisemitic cartoons and praising terrorist attacks. A 2015 investigation by the U.N. found that Hamas, the U.S.-designated terrorist group, used UNRWA schools as arsenals and launch pads for missiles fired indiscriminately at Israeli civilians during the 2014 Israel-Hamas war.

Elder of Ziyon reported that the recent images of children praising the murders of Jews by Arabs “is proof positive that despite UNRWA’s denials, its schools are being used as a platform to teach hate and violence.” He wrote that since “there are no checks and balances” against UNRWA’s behavior, “the public, the media and the donors” must “demand answers.”

The images of UNRWA school children endorsing hate and murder can be found here.