We must defund the UN for its role in enabling terror and antisemitism - opinion

UNRWA employees, involved in the October 7 massacre, are now exempt from prosecution by virtue of immunity as United Nations employees. 

This isn’t some abstract or distant fact – it’s a reality that causes me to react in disbelief and fury. 

How can an organization claiming to stand for humanitarian values shelter those complicit in terror? This is not just a failure of the UN, it’s a betrayal.

While UNRWA, tasked with providing aid, has long been suspected of allowing antisemitic rhetoric and extremist ideologies to permeate its ranks,October 7 laid bare the extent of its complicity. 

These individuals aren’t just participants in hate; they are active facilitators of violence, hiding behind UN protections that were never meant to shield those responsible for atrocities.

Immunity should be reserved for those committed to peace and neutrality – not for those aiding in acts of terrorism. 

The international community must demand that these protections be stripped, and those involved must face prosecution. 

There can be no justification for allowing immunity to stand in the way of justice.

The UN has 'no right to exist in its current form'

If the UN cannot be held accountable for its actions, if it cannot ensure that those who foster and perpetuate antisemitism face consequences, then it has no right to continue existing in its current form. 

UNRWA and other UN proxies that enable hate under the guise of humanitarian work must be dismantled. The UN’s actions have directly contributed to the rise of antisemitism, and its failure to protect Jewish people is a damning indictment of the institution itself. 

The world will probably remain silent but anything less than total rejection of this complicity is a betrayal of the values the UN claims to stand for. 

If it continues to shelter those who incite or enable violence, it must be dismantled. It’s time to demand justice for the victims of October 7 and for every Jew left vulnerable by this institutional failure.

In light of the upcoming elections in the United States it is especially critical to emphasize that the US, as the primary financial contributor to the UN, should see no other option but to demand immediate reforms within the organization. 

Barring this, the US must demonstrate the consequences of failing to protect all human rights and hold perpetrators accountable.

The writer is the founder and CEO of the ADIR Challenge Foundation, innovating the combat of antisemitism and hate. Morielle lost her nephew Addir Mesika at the Nova festival on October 7.