June 29, 2006 | Read Time: 3 minutes
Charities that provide aid in the Palestinian territories worry that new restrictions being considered by Congress could put a severe strain on their work. Legislation approved by the House of Representatives last month and pending in the Senate would bar the U.S. government from giving funds to nonprofit groups for projects in the West Bank and Gaza. Health programs would be exempted from the ban.
The Palestinian Anti-Terrorist Act, which passed the House by a vote of 361-37, could lead some American charities to stop operating in the region. Relief groups said they are hopeful that a similar bill before the Senate will prevail instead, which would impose fewer restrictions on aid groups.
Some organizations have already had to alter or scale back their programs in the West Bank and Gaza since Hamas, which the United States classifies as a terrorist organization, won control of the Palestinian government in January.
Relief International, in Los Angeles, ended a program working with public-school teachers and principals because under federal policy, schoolteachers and administrators are now considered members of the Hamas government, according to John Maris, director of programs. The organization is continuing the program by limiting it to private schools and schools run by the United Nations. The change, Mr. Maris said, “means that the lowest-income, most-in-need students are no longer able to benefit.”
Relief International receives about half of the $1-million it spends each year in the region from the U.S. government. “The pending legislation could well result in either forcing us to pull out altogether or reduce our programs to a very small level of activity,” Mr. Maris said of the House proposal.
Even some groups that don’t take government money are concerned about the proposal’s potential impact.
Islamic Relief, in Burbank, Calif., runs its nutrition, education, microcredit, and medical programs using private donations. But Salar Rizvi, director of finance and administration, said he is worried that the legislation could make his group’s work more difficult by exacerbating the humanitarian situation, and by potentially scaring off some other groups from working in the region. Islamic Relief, for example, had to cancel a fund-raising dinner scheduled for August after some donors expressed hesitation.
“We don’t think it’s a constructive step,” Mr. Rizvi said of the House bill. “We are looking at a humanitarian situation that is already extremely dire and anything that could punish a population or make things worse we are concerned about.”
Growing Needs
Because the government employs nearly 40 percent of those with regular jobs in Gaza, the cutoff in aid from the U.S. government has started to have a big impact on the Palestinian economy, increasing demands on private organizations.
Some charities have expanded their work in response. For example, American Near East Refugee Aid, in Washington, has increased its emergency-aid programs, such as one that provides milk for preschool students at risk of malnutrition.
Relief groups say they are hopeful private donors will come through with additional funds as the extent of the needs becomes clearer. Some say news-media coverage of the deteriorating humanitarian situation has already led to increased support.
Peter Gubser, president of American Near East Refugee Aid, said that some new donors have approached the organization in recent months, helping the organization increase its budget from $25-million in fiscal year 2005 to approximately $30-million in the fiscal year that just ended.
“More people know what’s going on because it’s on the front page of The New York Times,” he said. “People have stepped up.”
