The Hill: The U.S. is gambling with the future of half a million kids in the Middle East
Abby Smardon, executive director of UNRWA USA

“The humanitarian situation is getting worse in the Gaza Strip and throughout the Middle East, as the United States continues to withhold critical assistance from Palestinian refugees by freezing funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Families are running out of food, health clinics are in danger of closing, and UNRWA security officers are being laid off. … Failing to follow through on its historical commitment to support this vulnerable community, of which it has been the single largest donor for nearly 70 years, means that the U.S. will be responsible for denying the basic human rights of a generation or more of refugee children. Instead, America must demonstrate that it holds dear the notion that no marginalized community is more important or worthy than the next…” (3/9).