Kronenfeld says the impact of Israel’s campaign is hard to measure. His nonprofit has spent tens of thousands of dollars, plus staff time, trying to outbid Israel for Google search ad space. Yet UNRWA USA raised as much money in the first half of this year as it did in all of 2023, he says. Its 78,000 donors this year are a record for the organization, founded in 2005.
What Kronenfeld says really worries him is that Americans are being exposed to Israeli propaganda as they try to understand UNRWA’s role in the current crisis. In addition to search ads, Israel has aired video ads in the U.S. through Google that say, “UNRWA is inseparable from Hamas” and “Continues to employ terrorists“Public incomprehension could further jeopardize support from the US government, which until the war had been the largest donor to UNRWA.
“There is an incredibly powerful campaign to dismantle UNRWA,” says Kronenfeld. “I want the public to know what is happening and the insidious nature of it all, especially at a time when civilian lives are under attack in Gaza.”
Google spokesperson Jacel Booth told WIRED that governments can run ads that adhere to the company’s policies. policies and that users and employees can report suspected violations. “We enforce them consistently and without bias,” Booth says of the rules. “If we find ads that violate those policies, we take action quickly.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry in New York acknowledged but did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story over the past four months.
UNRWA takes action
With donor support of nearly $1.5 billion annually, UNRWA employs some 30,000 people to educate, feed and care for millions of Palestinian refugees in Gaza and surrounding areas. UNRWA supporters say Israel dislikes the agency’s preserving of Palestinians’ refugee status, which arguably gives them a better chance of reclaiming occupied lands one day.
Israel has accused UNRWA for decades of obstructing lasting peace by protecting Hamas and allowing the US-designated terrorist organisation to indoctrinate generation after generation with an ideology of hate.
The agency has acted in response to Israel’s accusations. This year, UNRWA has dismissed 13 employees, including nine who… a watchdog body that was determined to have been involved in last year’s Hamas attack, according to evidence provided by Israel. The United States has suspended funding to UNRWA since January, while other countries have cut money to the agency this year, including Germany and Swisspromised to reopen the tap.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini has said that his organization plays a neutral and vital role in the region and that it engages in selection and training to keep Hamas sympathizers out of its ranks.
Kronenfeld, who is Jewish, says Lazzarini’s transparency and good-faith efforts have made her comfortable with her role. She joined UNRWA USA in 2020 because her grandfather had escaped Nazi Germany and instilled in her that no one should ever be brutalized again because of where they were born. One of her initiatives was to increase online advertising, with the goal of raising at least $3.90 for every dollar spent.