Kronenfeld says she is genuinely concerned that Americans are being exposed to Israeli propaganda as they try to understand UNRWA’s role in the ongoing crisis. In addition to search engine ads, Israel has been running video ads in the U.S. through Google that say “UNRWA is inextricably linked to Hamas“and that”still employs terrorists.”Public disagreement could further jeopardize support from the U.S. government, which until the war was UNRWA’s largest donor.
“There is an incredibly strong campaign to dismantle UNRWA,” Kronenfeld says. “I want the public to know what is happening and the insidious nature of it, especially at a time when civilian lives are under attack in Gaza.”
Google spokesman Jacel Booth told WIRED that governments can show ads that comply with the company’s policies. rules and that users and employees can report suspected violations. “We enforce them consistently and impartially,” Booth says of the rules. “If we find ads that violate these rules, we take swift action.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry in Novel York confirmed the news but has not responded to numerous requests for comment on the matter over the past four months.
UNRWA takes action
Using nearly $1.5 billion a year in donor support, UNRWA employs some 30,000 people to educate, feed and provide care to millions of Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip and surrounding areas. UNRWA supporters say Israel resents the agency’s retention of Palestinian refugee status, which presumably gives them a better chance of one day reclaiming the occupied lands.
For decades, Israel has accused UNRWA of blocking lasting peace by protecting Hamas and enabling the US-designated terrorist organization to instill an ideology of hatred in future generations.
The agency responded to Israel’s accusations. This year, UNRWA has dismissed 13 staff members, including nine who the supervisory authority determined that he may have been involved in last year’s Hamas attack based on evidence provided by Israel. The U.S. has halted funding for UNRWA since January, while other countries that have withheld dollars to the agency this year, including Germany AND Switzerlandpledged to reopen the tap.
UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini, he said that his organization plays a neutral and significant role in the region and that it is engaged in control and training to prevent Hamas sympathizers from entering its ranks.
Kronenfeld, who is Jewish, says Lazzarini’s transparency and good intentions have made her feel comfortable in her role. She joined UNRWA USA in 2020 because her grandfather fled Nazi Germany and instilled in her that no one should ever again be brutalized because of where they were born. One of her initiatives was to escalate online advertising, with the goal of generating at least $3.90 for every dollar spent.
The war has resulted in a return on investment of $25 for every dollar spent this year, but competition from Israel in Google search has meant that UNRWA USA is winning fewer ad auctions and is likely to see its message in front of fewer users.
After Kronenfeld and his colleagues complained to Google in January about Israeli ads with headlines like “UNRWA for Human Rights,” they say a company representative told them, without giving a reason, that the ads in question had been removed. Google’s Booth says there was no policy violation.
In May, according to screenshots seen by WIRED, Israel returned to promoting the same content, but with changed wording — “UNRWA neutrality at risk,” “Israel exposes UNRWA’s problems,” and “Israel advocates for safer, transparent humanitarian practices” — that more clearly announced what users would receive when they clicked on it.