UNRWA official threatened to mutilate Gaza teacher who opposed antisemitic lessons

Gaza teacher says UNRWA school administrator threatened to cut out her tongue over her opposition to the glorification of violence against Jews.

By World Israel News Staff

A Palestinian teacher employed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) says a school administrator threatened to mutilate her after she challenged colleagues who were teaching children to hate Jews and glorifying violence against Israelis.

The 40-year-old geography teacher, who has worked for UNRWA for 15 years, described the incident in an interview with the New York Post published Monday, warning that the indoctrination of Palestinian children could help produce another massacre like the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

The teacher, whose identity was withheld for her protection, said the confrontation occurred at a UNRWA school in Gaza City following an argument with another educator about antisemitic messages being taught to young girls.

Several days after the disagreement, she said, a school administrator confronted her while holding scissors and threatened her with physical violence.

“We’ll make you wish for death, and if you don’t stop arguing, we will cut your tongue,” the administrator allegedly told her.

The teacher said she had originally joined UNRWA because she believed the UN agency would offer children an educational environment insulated from the extremist ideology promoted by Hamas.

Instead, she claimed, she encountered teachers who encouraged hostility toward Jews, justified terrorism and presented Hamas as an organization fighting on behalf of Palestinians.

She described one classroom lesson in which an educator blamed Jews for Palestinian suffering and portrayed Hamas’s actions as a justified response to historical grievances.

Another teacher encouraged female students to continue the terrorist organization’s struggle against Jews.

The geography teacher said she objected to the messages being delivered to children, leading to disagreements with colleagues and ultimately the threat from the school administrator.

She initially remained silent out of concern for her own safety and that of her family, but eventually decided to speak publicly because she feared the consequences of allowing such instruction to continue.

According to the teacher, the war between Israel and Hamas has intensified the danger of radicalization, as children who have experienced displacement, destruction and the loss of relatives become increasingly susceptible to extremist messages.

She warned that the trauma experienced by Gaza’s children could be exploited by educators who encourage them to direct their anger toward Jews and support future attacks.

The teacher also criticized what she described as the tendency of some Palestinian educators to condemn the devastation that followed October 7 without rejecting the massacre itself.

The school where the alleged threats occurred has since closed and been converted into a shelter for displaced Gazans.

UNRWA did not respond to the New York Post‘s request for comment.

Her account comes amid longstanding scrutiny of the UN agency’s educational programs and allegations that Palestinian school materials contain antisemitic content and messages glorifying violence.

In January, the US Government Accountability Office published a report examining the use of Palestinian Authority textbooks in UNRWA schools.

The investigation found that UNRWA had identified material which violated UN principles of neutrality, nonviolence and nondiscrimination and had taken steps to address it.

However, investigators also documented weaknesses in the agency’s educational oversight, including resistance from teachers and local communities to efforts to remove problematic material.

The report found that the US State Department had provided approximately $375 million to support UNRWA educational activities in Judea, Samaria, and Gaza between 2018 and 2024.

The agency has also faced allegations concerning employees’ involvement in terrorism.

An investigation conducted by the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services in 2024 found evidence suggesting that nine UNRWA employees may have participated in the October 7 attacks. The agency terminated their employment.

Questions about the future of Gaza’s education system have intensified as international organizations and private charities seek to restore schooling disrupted by the war.