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US Lawmaker Blasts UN Agency for Teaching Children to ‘Hate Jews’
US Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) speaking at a hearing of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Aviation at the US Capitol. Photo: Reuters Connect
US Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, blasted the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) for teaching Palestinian children to “hate Jews,” calling on his fellow lawmakers to support a bill which would claw back funds from the controversial relief organization.
“This week, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, we marked up a bill mandating that the State Department do everything that it can to recoup the millions of dollars, your dollars, that were sent to UNRWA before Oct. 7,” Mast said in a video uploaded to X/Twitter on Sunday. “This was a bill that I put forward, and we’ve been working on it for a number of months. Now, everybody knows how terrible UNRWA is, and that’s why my bill is bipartisan.”
In May, Mast and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) unveiled a bipartisan bill to rescind all remaining federal funding from UNRWA, citing the agency’s ties to “Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihadists” and condemning the relief organization as an “incubator for Palestinian terrorists.” The bill would direct the Secretary of State to revoke funding that has not yet been utilized by the agency.
The bill was ultimately tabled by the House Foreign Affairs Committee by a vote of 24 to 22 on July 11, which spilt along party lines.
Mast torched Democratic lawmakers for refusing to support legislation which would defund an organization which, Mast argues, promotes antisemitism and terrorism.
I am proud to announce that my bill clawing back misused funds to UNRWA has passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
The notion that UNRWA serves American interests is a joke. Let’s get this across the finish line. pic.twitter.com/xnwJopFni6
— Rep. Brian Mast (@RepBrianMast) July 15, 2024
“[D]espite UNRWA’s crimes being made public, there are still some House Democrats who would prefer to take a page out of Joe Biden’s book and disassociate from reality,” Mast said.
The lawmaker also slammed Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-MA) for her prior comments which defended UNRWA as “doing God’s work.” Mast further repudiated UNRWA as an agency which indoctrinates Palestinian children to “hate Jews.”
“Is it God’s work to take innocent people hostage or launch rockets at school buses or cities or cafes or malls or any innocent people they can find? I don’t think that’s the case,” Mast said.
UNRWA has faced significant controversy due to allegations of its connections with Hamas, the terrorist group which launched the ongoing war in Gaza by slaughtering roughly 1200 people in southern Israel on Oct. 7. UNRWA facilities and resources have been exploited by Hamas for various purposes, including the storage of weapons and the use of schools as launch sites for attacks against Israel.
Over 100 Israeli victims of Oct. 7 filed lawsuits against UNRWA in June for allegedly providing a “safe haven” for Hamas and “aiding and abetting” the terrorist group. Roughly 10 percent of UNRWA employees are tied to terrorist groups such as Hamas or the Islamic Jihad, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. Members of a 3,000 Telegram group were found to have celebrated the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, according to UN Watch. Evidence suggests that at least 30 UNRWA employees actively participated in Oct. 7, slaughtering civilians, taking hostages, and ransacking Israeli communities.
The House voted in March to defund UNRWA as part of a $1.2 trillion spending package to prevent a government shutdown.
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French Official Tells Paper Arab Countries Will Condemn Hamas, Trying to Get Palestinian Statehood Recognized
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks to the media on the day he attends the European Union Foreign Ministers council in Brussels, Belgium, July 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman
Arab countries will for the first time condemn Hamas and call for its disarmament early next week at a United Nations ministerial event in New York, a move meant to lure more European countries to recognize Palestinian statehood, France’s foreign minister said on Saturday.
In an exclusive interview with French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot said the move was part of a long-planned initiative between France and Saudi Arabia.
“For the first time, Arab countries will condemn Hamas and call for its disarmament, which will seal its definitive isolation. European countries will in turn confirm their intention to recognize the State of Palestine. Half of European countries have done so, all others are considering it,” Barrot told the JDD.
“The British Prime Minister has stated his intention to do so. Germany is considering it at a later stage. We will launch an appeal in New York for other countries to join us in order to set in motion an even more ambitious and demanding process that will culminate on September 21,” Barrot added.
On Thursday French President Emmanuel Macron announced France would formally recognize the state of Palestine at the U.N. General Assembly on September 21, drawing condemnation from the U.S. and Israel.
Earlier on Saturday Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni called it counterproductive to recognize a Palestinian state before it is established.
On Friday a German government spokesperson said there were no plans to recognize a Palestinian state in the short term.
At the upcoming United Nations event on Monday and Tuesday, France and Saudi Arabia plan to lay out a proposed post-war roadmap leading to a two-state solution covering security, reconstruction and governance, which will be compatible with the Abraham Accords negotiated by US President Trump, Barrot said.
The French minister added that in coming weeks the European Commission would take a tougher stance on Israel and demand a stop on building of any new settlement projects in the West Bank, and also an end to militarized policing of humanitarian aid distribution.
Barrot also called on fellow European countries to demand a removal of the financial blockade on the Palestinian authority so it can receive 2 billion euros he said it is owed.
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Jordan and UAE Drop Aid Into Gaza in First Airdrop in Months, Jordanian Source Says
An airplane drops humanitarian aid over Gaza as seen from northern Gaza Strip July 27, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Jordan and the United Arab Emirates parachuted 25 tons of aid into the Gaza Strip on Sunday in their first airdrop in months, a Jordanian official source said.
The official said the air drops were not a substitute for delivery by land.
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Trump Says Israel Will Have to Decide on Next Steps in Gaza, Pledges More Aid
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 8, 2025. Photo: Kevin Lamarque via Reuters Connect.
US President Donald Trump said on Sunday Israel would have to make a decision on next steps in Gaza, adding that he did not know what would happen after the collapse of ceasefire and hostage-release negotiations with the Hamas terrorist group.
Trump underscored the importance of securing the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, saying they had suddenly “hardened” up on the issue, and said the US would provide more aid to the war-torn Palestinian enclave.
“They don’t want to give them back, and so Israel is going to have to make a decision,” Trump told reporters at the start of a meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at his golf property in Turnberry, Scotland.
“I know what I’d do, but I don’t think it’s appropriate that I say it. But Israel is going to have to make a decision,” he said, while also claiming, without evidence, that Hamas members were stealing food coming into Gaza and selling it.
Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both appeared on Friday to abandon Gaza ceasefire negotiations with Hamas, saying it had become clear that the Palestinian group did not want a deal.
Netanyahu said Israel was now mulling “alternative” options to achieve its goals of bringing its hostages home from Gaza and ending Hamas rule in the enclave.
Trump said he believed Hamas leaders would now be “hunted down,” telling reporters: “Hamas really didn’t want to make a deal. I think they want to die. And it’s very bad. And it got to be to a point where you’re going to have to finish the job.”
US TO PROVIDE MORE AID, TRUMP SAYS
Trump on Sunday said the US would provide more humanitarian aid to Gaza, where concerns are mounting about the worsening hunger, but wanted other countries to participate as well. He said he would discuss the issue with von der Leyen.
“We’re giving a lot of money, a lot of food, a lot of everything,” he said. “If we weren’t there, I think people would have starved, frankly. They would have starved, and it’s not like they’re eating well.”
He said he had spoken with Netanyahu and discussed a number of issues, including Iran. He said and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer would also discuss Israel when they meet at Trump’s golf property in Turnberry on Monday.
Trump also noted said the United States was not acknowledged for earlier food aid for Gaza.
“No other country gave anything,” he said, calling out European countries in particular. “It makes you feel a little bad when you do that and, you know, you have other countries not giving anything… Nobody gave but us. And nobody said, Gee, thank you very much. And it would be nice to have at least a thank you.”
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