Australia halves its financial aid to UNRWA | JNS

UNRWA employees protest against a US withdrawal of funding in 2018

The Australian government has followed in U.S. footsteps and cut financial aid to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), according to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade budget papers.

While the aid reduction was not officially announced by the Australian government, according to a report published on the website of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) on Friday, it was listed in the 2020-21 budget papers, released on Oct. 6.

According to the budget estimate, Australia will give $10 million to UNRWA in 2020-21, compared to $20 million in 2019-20.

Separately, UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini said in an interview published on Monday in The Guardian, “We are constantly in crisis mode when it comes to the cash flow. UNRWA is constantly running after the cash.”

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Sydney: Jews beaten while walking home

Emergency services at the scene of the Bondi attack. Picture: Gordon McComiskie

NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell says there will be zero tolerance for religious discrimination following an apparent anti-semitic attack in Sydney.

Four men and a woman were taken to hospital after a melee broke out on Blair St, Bondi, early Saturday morning.

Police said they had received reports the group had walked past eight men who made anti-Semitic comments towards them.

“There is no place for anyone to be attacked on the basis of their beliefs or religious background,” Mr O’Farrell said on Monday.

Citizenship and Communities Minister Victor Dominello denounced the attack as un-Australian and unacceptable.

“Everyone has the right to feel safe on the streets of NSW,” he said.

Two 17-year-old youths and a 23-year-old man have been charged over the matter.

The 23-year-old man will face Waverley Local Court on December 3.

With his eye bloodied and his hand bandaged, one of the Jewish men attacked was yesterday at a loss to comprehend how anyone could allegedly bash him and his parents because of their religion.

The 27-year-old, his father, 66, mother, 62, and two other men, 48 and 39, were walking home from a Jewish Sabbath dinner in Bondi when they were set upon in an alleged anti-Semitic attack on Saturday.

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The alleged incident has “shocked and distressed” the local Jewish community, with senior leaders saying some people were now fearful of repeat attacks.

Recovering at his parents’ Bondi home yesterday, the man struggled to speak clearly, with his lip swollen and lacerated. “It’s all been very unpleasant … very unexpected,” he said.

His father, the most seriously injured of all five victims, arrived home yesterday after a day in hospital with bleeding on the brain. He had a black eye and severe bruising to his face yesterday.

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