Dr. Einat Wilf, former Member of Knesset and Dr. Asaf Romirowsky, Adjunct Scholar at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Middle East Forum, at the 2013 AIPAC Policy Conference discussing UNRWA and its role in the continuation of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) began providing assistance to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon in the wake of the 1948-1949 Arab-Israeli war. Since then, the organization has survived wars, coups, uprisings and even the creation of the first-ever Palestinian governing body—the Palestinian Authority—which operates in parallel with UNRWA institutions. However, few have asked why the U.N. still operates schools, hospitals and clinics for “refugees” six decades after the partition of Mandatory Palestine.