Toronto(March 16, 2018) – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) expresses itsconcern following yesterday’s announcementby the Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, Minister of International Developmentand La Francophonie, of an additional $10 million dollars in emergency fundingfor Palestinian Aid to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

FSWChas, in the past, expressedcaution concerning the abuse of funding to UNRWA.  A Canadian fundingannouncement in November 2016 promised “robust oversight mechanisms and anenhanced accountability”.  Yet, sincethen, UNWRA officials continue to beconnected to accusations of corruption, incitement of antisemitism and ties toterrorist organizations including Hamas.  Yesterday’s funding announcementdid state that Canada would continue to exercise “enhanced due diligence” andassist UNRWA in its efforts to “improve neutrality” within its agency andoperations.

“Whilewe support all humanitarian efforts and respect that the government is assuringthere will be due diligence applied to funding, there is no guarantee the fundswill not be used to support terrorism against Israel,” said FSWC President andCEO Avi Benlolo. “We believe Canadian aid to Palestinians should beadministered by Canada directly to ensure that our tax dollars are not at riskof being misdirected, especially in the UNRWA schools where teachers have beenaccused of advocating antisemitism and terrorism.”

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Media Contact:

Zach Potashner
Director, Government & External Affairs
416.864.9735 x 32 zpotashner@fswc.ca

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Follow us on Twitter at @CanadianFSWC 

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Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) is a top Jewish human rights foundation in Canada's organized Jewish community. It directly impacts over 100,000 people each year and 500,000+ peripherally. FSWC is committed to countering racism and antisemitism and to promoting the principles of tolerance, social justice and Canadian democratic values through advocacy and educational programs including workshops, Freedom Day, Spirit of Hope Benefit, Tools for Tolerance and the widely acclaimed Tour for Humanity. FSWC is affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization headquartered in Los Angeles which has won two Academy Awards, has built two Museums of Tolerance (with a third being built in Jerusalem) and is an NGO at the United Nations, UNESCO, OAS, OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament. Visit us at www.fswc.ca. 

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