Why is New Zealand still funding antisemitic education in the Palestinian territories?

A recent report from the education watchdog IMPACT-se has reignited urgent concerns over the content of Palestinian school curricula.

While the international spotlight has rightly focused on UNRWA’s operations in Gaza (where educators affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad teach children to venerate terrorists) the same disturbing patterns appear in Judea & Samaria (the West Bank), under the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Despite years of documentation, warnings, and formal complaints, New Zealand continues to fund these educational systems. Through our contributions to UNRWA and development aid to the PA, we are bankrolling institutions that teach children to hate Jews, glorify violence, and reject peaceful coexistence with Israel. This is not humanitarian aid — it is complicity.

The Curriculum of Hate

Under the PA in Judea & Samaria, and Hamas in Gaza, Palestinian schoolbooks systematically demonise Jews and erase Israel from existence. Recent textbooks for primary and secondary school students are filled with language promoting martyrdom and armed resistance, idolising terrorists, and presenting Jews as malevolent invaders with no legitimate historical connection to the land.

In one textbook, students are taught about Dalal Mughrabi, who led a 1978 massacre that killed 38 Israelis, including 13 children. Rather than being condemned, she is celebrated as a “hero.” Elsewhere, Jewish history is denied entirely, and peace agreements are omitted or disparaged. These books are approved by the PA and widely used in UNRWA-run schools across both Gaza and Judea & Samaria.

These aren’t isolated examples. They are the core of the curriculum — rooted in indoctrination, not education.

Complicity Through UNRWA and Beyond

UNRWA, the UN agency specifically created for Palestinian refugees, is the primary vehicle for delivering education in both Gaza and Judea & Samaria. While it claims neutrality, its actual performance tells another story. UNRWA schools use PA-issued textbooks, and UNRWA teachers, even those not formally linked to terror groups, often disseminate the antisemitic content without challenge.

The latest IMPACT-se report found that over 10% of school principals and senior educators working for UNRWA in Gaza had affiliations with terror organisations. But the issue isn’t just the affiliations of staff — it’s the educational content and institutional culture. In both Gaza and Judea & Samaria, UNRWA uses PA curricula that glorify jihad and erase Israel from maps.

New Zealand’s Role

New Zealand contributes approximately NZ$1 million annually to UNRWA, and has maintained separate aid commitments to PA-administered development programs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) has acknowledged concerns about the curriculum but continues to fund these bodies, stating that funds are not directly used for education — even though education is a central function of the organisations we’re supporting.

The problem is simple: money is fungible. If our funding allows UNRWA or the PA to allocate more money to hateful education, we are complicit. And the broader issue remains — New Zealand has failed to apply the scrutiny and conditionality that our democratic values demand.

Other countries have acted. The United States, Germany, the European Union, and Canada have all suspended or reconsidered their UNRWA funding after learning of staff participation in terrorism and systemic antisemitic indoctrination. New Zealand, meanwhile, is standing still. MFAT officials claim to be monitoring the situation, but no corrective action has been taken. This passive approach is morally and diplomatically negligent.

Better Alternatives

We are told there are no alternatives. That is false.

Numerous humanitarian organisations work in the Palestinian territories without promoting hatred or glorifying violence. These include:

• Save the Children and Plan International (with proper safeguards);

• IsraAID, an Israeli NGO that supports Palestinian communities with a commitment to coexistence;

• Local civil society groups committed to peace and non-violence;

• New multilateral mechanisms for aid delivery tied to UNESCO standards, human rights norms, and independent verification.

New Zealand can lead or partner with like-minded democracies to establish a new framework for supporting Palestinian children — one that nurtures hope, not hate.

We Must Stop Funding Hate

As New Zealanders, we pride ourselves on fairness, decency, and standing against racism in all its forms. Yet our current aid policy is undermining those values. By funding UNRWA and unconditionally supporting the PA, we are enabling a curriculum that breeds division and violence.

This must stop.

IINZ