UNRWA accused of failing to remove antisemitic and extremist teaching from classrooms
New report claims key reforms remain unfinished, prompting renewed calls for Britain to review funding for the UN agency
The UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees has been accused of failing to remove extremist material from its schools, despite pledging reforms following an independent review commissioned by the European Union.
A new report by education watchdog IMPACT-se claims the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has not carried out most of the education reforms it promised after the 2024 Colonna Report, raising fresh questions over international funding for the agency.
According to the report, many of the recommendations aimed at improving neutrality in UNRWA schools remain incomplete two years later. IMPACT-se says pupils are still being taught material that promotes antisemitism, glorifies violence and presents armed jihad as a religious duty.
Among the examples highlighted, the report alleges that a Grade 9 Islamic Education textbook teaches that fighting and killing non-Muslims is an act of jihad that guarantees entry to paradise. It also claims a Grade 5 textbook encourages girls to “kill, be killed, and send their children to die.”
IMPACT-se chief executive Marcus Sheff said: “The international community committed itself to ensuring that the failures identified by the Colonna Report would be addressed through meaningful institutional reform.
“Two years later, our analysis demonstrates that UNRWA has chosen token compliance instead of delivering the substantive changes the review demanded.”
He added: “With many governments still funding the agency on the assumption that the Colonna recommendations have been implemented, the gap between UNRWA’s claims and its actual, verifiable reform should be a red flag to every donor.”
The findings have prompted renewed criticism from the Campaign Against Antisemitism, which urged the UK Government to publish the legal advice it received before restoring funding to UNRWA in 2024.
In a statement, the organisation said: “Yet again, assurances from UNRWA ring hollow.”
It added that UNRWA staff were reportedly continuing to use teaching materials that “promote antisemitic rhetoric, glorify violence and encourage jihad”, arguing that the findings demonstrated the need for “meaningful accountability”.
The group also renewed its call for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office to release a summary of legal advice, saying ministers had previously suggested the Colonna review provided sufficient due diligence before funding resumed.
“The British Government should not tolerate a risk that British taxpayer money funds terrorist activity or antisemitic and extremist education,” the statement said.
The latest report follows previous allegations involving UNRWA staff. IMPACT-se has previously published evidence alleging that some agency employees participated in the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on 7 October 2023, while UNRWA acknowledged in 2024 that a senior Hamas commander killed in Lebanon had previously worked as one of its teachers.
UNRWA has repeatedly said it investigates allegations relating to staff neutrality and has previously stated that it is committed to implementing the recommendations of the independent Colonna review.
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