Many well-known international aid organizations for decades have not given anything to Israel or helped Israeli citizens. Think twice before giving them a penny of your hard-earned money.
Telling readers of Townhall that the UN is a garbage organization is wholly unnecessary. That said, I want to tell a personal story related to one of those self-important international aid organizations, Doctors Without Borders, or as it is known in this house, Doctors Without Morals.
I have mentioned more than once that our oldest son and I were wounded in a suicide bombing here in Jerusalem in 2002. Our son spent most of his initial recovery in Hadassah Hospital’s Pediatric ICU (PICU for short). One day while we lived our new lives there, staff came in and out in a great hurry. Security guards with guns showed up periodically. Sensing that something was happening, I took the liberty to ask what all of the commotion was about. I was told the following: a wanted Palestinian terrorist was identified in his car. An Apache helicopter sent a missile to get him in the express lane for his 72 virgins. The terrorist jumped out of the car at the last second and conveniently left his son in the exploding vehicle. The boy was burned over 90 percent of his body. The staff there spent hours at a time changing his bandages, washing him, and helping him to recover. He was not treated any less well or any differently than any other child, Jewish or Arab. The security guys were there should his dad decide to come uninvited.
While I was sitting in the parents’ lounge outside of PICU, two French fellows showed up. I knew exactly who they were and I blocked the door, saying, “Only parents are allowed in.” The two guys were from Doctors Without Borders and Reuters. Security came and took them somewhere else in the hospital. The mother apparently was trying to get permission to visit her son, and Doctors Without Borders claimed that they were representing the family in her absence.
After the two fellows departed, I got to thinking. Doctors Without Borders never inquired about our son. Not that I would want them anywhere near our boy. But our son had had the head of a Philips screw pass fully through his right brain. He was at the time blind and paralyzed on his left side. The hypocritical doctor of the Hippocratic Oath could not find the time or interest to check on the health and well-being of a Jewish child? His argument would probably be that the Jewish kid had family with him, but the burned Arab boy did not. But that was not the issue. He simply couldn't care less as to the well-being of a Jewish child. And for that reason, I won’t give a dime to any of these antisemitic international organizations. A real doctor would want to check up and maybe even bring some cheer to any child. A modern Mengele would not.
I was reminded of this story when my lawyer, Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, released on X a tape her organization, Shurat Hadin, had recorded. They had their people call UNICEF-UK and UNICEF-Australia in order to donate money to Israeli children who have been harmed by the pogrom and ensuing war. Those who answered the phones said that they had active programs in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Gaza—but nothing in Israel. The UK fellow tried to convince the caller that Gaza and Israel were one and the same. When the caller insisted on giving money to Israeli children, the staffer admitted that he had nothing to offer. My mother warned me 50 years ago when people went trick-or-treating with those little blue charity boxes that UNICEF was anti-Israel, and nothing has changed.
During the height of the second intifada, the Palestinian observer to the UN introduced a non-binding resolution to the General Assembly asking for the protection of Palestinian children from harm. It was a very general resolution and passed easily. Dan Gillerman, the Israeli ambassador to the UN at the time, very cleverly changed “Palestinian” to “Israeli” and submitted the modified version. It was rejected by a large majority. The resolution was non-binding and only asked for the general protection of children during the rampant bloodshed. The nations of the world were not having it. The UN has condemned Israel in the past decade more than all other nations combined.
This tendency of international organizations to be anti-Israel and effectively antisemitic is not surprising. Muslim and third-world countries dominate the UN and their position with respect to Israel is well-known. Look at Turkey's Erdogan going off on Israel non-stop since the mass murder of Jews on 10/7. And as to the Western do-gooders who populate antisemitic organizations like Doctors Without Borders or Oxfam, we have seen for the past two months that they are enamored with psychotic Jew killers. Thus, the hapless UNICEF staffers could not find any program for Israel—their only goal is to help the next generations of rapists, beheaders, butchers, and kidnappers in Gaza. Why would they also want to help the enemy?
Americans are the most generous people in the world. If there is a catastrophe anywhere, American organizations are often among the first to arrive (ditto for Israeli groups). Americans give generously to help those affected by hurricanes, tsunamis or the like anywhere on the globe. While I would certainly want Americans to keep that generous spirit, I would strongly encourage them to give their money carefully. If an organization can differentiate between a Jewish and non-Jewish child or Israel and any other nation state, then I would suggest that you find a better place to give your money. Let the antisemites at Doctors Without Borders get their money from elsewhere. Your money can be better spent.