Militant Islam Monitor > Weblog > American Friends Of UNRWA Working With CAIR, MPAC, Islamic Relief And Other Radical Islamist Groups And Individuals To Raise Funds
American Friends Of UNRWA Working With CAIR, MPAC, Islamic Relief And Other Radical Islamist Groups And Individuals To Raise Funds
July 31, 2014
MIM: American Friends of UNRWA aka UNRWAUSA is working together with Islamist individuals and organisations to help fund the anti Israel pro Hamas organisation. Among the sponsors of their 2014 5 K Solidarity Run for Gaza was CAIR, MPAC, Islamic Relief and the Embassy of Saudi Arabia. In June 2014 Islamic Relief Worldwide was banned from operating in Israel because of their funding of Hamas. IRUSA is a subsidiary of IRW.
According to Arutz Sheva:
" Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon on Thursday signed an order declaring the Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) group illegal. Based on the order, the organization can no longer raise money or distribute money in Israel or anywhere in Judea and Samaria.
IRW, said Yaalon, is a chief fundraising front for Hamas. Posing as a "charity," the organization claims to raise money to assist refugees, orphans, and the needy, said Yaalon, but most of its money ends up in the hands of Hamas, used either to fund terror attacks or pay terrorists.
The group has offices around the world, raising money from Muslims in Western countries to fund its activities. The group's main office is in the UK. In 2006, the Israel Security Agency (ISA) and the Israel Police arrested Iyaz Ali, a Pakistani-born British national, who was an assistant director of IRW's Gaza branch. Files found on his computer showed clearly that IRW funds were being used to fund Hamas terror activities."
MIM: The American Friends of UNRWA held several 5K Gaza Solidarity Runs in various locations in the United States.
Below a list of the sponsors of the event in Washington, DC.
Excerpt from UNRWAUSA press release.
Washington, DC | unrwausa.org | May 2, 2014 -- American Friends of UNRWA (UNRWA USA) invites its donors and supporters to participate in its 3rd annual Gaza Solidarity 5K Walk/Run on 17 May 2014 at Rock Creek Park in Washington DC. The Gaza 5K is a fun family-friendly event which brings members of the American community together to show solidarity with the children of Gaza... http://unrwausa.org/gaza5k/press
A BIG thank you to this year's national and local sponsors:
National Sponsors: Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia Qatar Foundation International Bank of Palestine Dish Network Institute for Palestine Studies (IPS) Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)
DC Sponsors: Embassy of the State of Qatar Embassy of the State of Kuwait Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain Zahi Khouri American Near-East Refugee Aid (ANERA) Dr. Hanna Hanania Connoisseur Travel Islamicity Azzad Assest Management, Inc. Islamic Relief USA Ramallah Club of Washington DC Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) My Health Mentor
"American Friends of UNRWA, Inc. is a non-profit organization that supports the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Our mission is to promote a life of dignity and human development for Palestine refugees by informing the American public about UNRWA's work and generating support for its programs through fundraising, education, and advocacy." http://unrwausa.org/mission
Co-hosted by the Ramallah Club of San Francisco, proceeds from the event will benefit UNRWA's psycho-social support program to provide counseling for children in Gaza suffering from psychological trauma and PTSD related to the devastating November 2012 violence and the prolonged blockade. Since November, reported cases of PTSD have risen by more than 100%, with 42% of those cases being children under the age of nine.
We hope you will join the event to provide thousands of children with critically needed counseling services that offer them a safe space to express their emotions and fears and the opportunity to work with trained counselors to learn valuable coping skills.
Breakfast and T-shirts will be provided, and lucky winners will win prizes. So lace up your running or walking shoes, bring your friends and family and join us on Oct. 5! To register for visit: www.unrwausa.org/gaza5k.
UNRWA USA, is an independent non-profit organization that provides support for the humanitarian work of the UNRWA for Palestine refugees. UNRWA provides education, health care, social services and emergency protection to 5.3 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
UNRWA USA aims to educate the general American public about the situation of Palestine refugees and generate support for UNRWA's programs. Donations to UNRWA USA are tax-deductible.
Contact Laila Mokhiber, Communications Officer for UNRWA, at [email protected] or 202-223-3767 for more information.
MIM: UNRWA officials visit with the virulently anti Israel and anti semitic American Muslims For Palestine. Note that the end of the announcement also mentions their visit to the Hamas enclave The Bridgeview Mosque Foundation.
(CHICAGO 01/16/2012) – Karen Abu Zayd, commissioner general (ret.) of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, as well as officials from the American Friends of UNRWA visited the headquarters of American Muslims for Palestine recently.
Ambassador Phillip Wilcox, chairman of American Friends of UNRWA, and Abby Smardon, its executive director, joined Abu Zayd at AMP's offices on Wednesday, Jan. 11 to discuss how the American non-profit organization supports important programs through UNRWA that support Palestinian refugees, such as the school food or olive tree planting programs. Abu Zayd also sits on the board of the non-profit. The entourage met with Awad Hamdan, AMP national programs director; Kristin Szremski, AMP director of media and communications; and Fadi Sahouri, AMP-Chicago chairman.
"AMP supports the work of American Friends of UNRWA, because they, in turn, support much- needed programs for the millions of Palestinian refugees served by the United Nations' agency," Sahouri said. "We like to forward initiatives from American Friends of UNRWA because it is another legitimate way in which Americans can help Palestinians."
Afterward, Wilcox and Abu Zayd spoke at a community meeting at the Mosque Foundation of Bridgeview.
"American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) is the leading organization providing anti-Zionist training and education to students and Muslim community organizations in the country. Founded in 2005, AMP promotes extreme anti-Israel views and has at times provided a platform for anti-Semitism under the guise of educating Americans about "the just cause of Palestine and the rights of self-determination."
MIM: Karen Abu Zayad former Commissioner General of UNRWA and Chairman Wilcox spoke at the Mosque Foundation whose Imam Jamal Said is a known Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas operative.
January 11, 2012 – Special Program "UNRWA's Critical. Role in Sustaining Hope ... Karen AbuZayd, Former UNRWA Commissioner General. January 14, 2012 ...
MIM: The Bridgeview Mosque Foundation has been a terror hub for decades . In his book "American Jihad" counter terrorism expert Steven Emerson recounted a visit to the mosque and his encounter with Jamal Said:
Jamal Said, the Imam of Bridgeview Mosque is still an Imam there today together with IAP's Rafeeq Jabeer . Both Said and Jabeer were speakers at the IAP 2001 Chicago convention. (The Islamic Association of Palestine is the American wing of Hamas.)Here is an account of a visit to the mosque by Steven Emerson:
..."Later, he took Khalid and me to the Bridgeview Mosque, where Jamal Said was the imam. I could tell immediately that we were deep in the heart of Hamas territory. The walls of the vestibule were covered with Hamas posters and recruiting literature showing masked gunmen brandishing automatic weapons. It was all in Arabic, but you could see daggers plunged into Jewish hearts wrapped up in American flags. They even had a library filled with militant terrorist videos and books. Khalid was there to translate for me. The Friday service was a rather strange experience. Out of 800 people, I was the only one wearing a red ski jacket. When the service was over I approached the imam and asked him if he had known Abdullah Azzam. He was very defensive. "I never met with him," he said quickly and then dismissed me. Earlier that year, two Hamas operatives, congregants of the mosque, were arrested in Israel for transferring money from the United States to terrorists on the West Bank. One of these men, Mohammad Jarad, told the Israelis that he was sent on his mission by Jamal Said".
Feb 5, 2014 ... America whose mission is presented by their name. ..... months, many of the boys gather with their friends and play sports, including ... Fundraiser for Islamic Relief USA which featured Hatem Bazian a known terrorist.
MIM: UNRWA has been actively aiding and abetting Hamas from its inception. One recent example of their complicity in Hamas terrorist activities is the death of 3 Israeli soldiers who were killed in a booby trapped UNRWA "health clinic".
"...Since the beginning of the operation, 61 officers and soldiers have been killed.
Among the 61 dead are three soldiers who were killed when explosives detonated within a booby-trapped UN building in Khan Younis on Wednesday.
Over eighty kilograms of explosives were built into the UN-funded hospital's walls themselves, it was cleared for publication Thursday - revealing that the clinic itself was built to mask, and perform, potential acts of terror on the IDF.