After Unrwa cuts, congressional staffers organise Gaza fundraiser

After the Biden administration abruptly suspended funding to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa), amid congressional calls for that aid to be permanently stopped, a group of appalled staffers on Capitol Hill have taken matters into their own hands.

Rather than following their bosses in Congress or agreeing to the administration's aid suspension, staffers are organising a fundraiser next week in DC to help raise money for humanitarian assistance in Gaza, as well as for organisations working to free the remaining Israeli hostages in Gaza.

The fundraiser will take place next Thursday. Organisers also plan to create a GoFundMe page and open up their fundraising efforts to the public.

"We feel like we have a responsibility to do more when you see our members and our president and the administration refusing to do so," an organiser with Congressional Staffers for Ceasefire said in a phone interview with MEE.

"While we're obviously not going to be able to raise the millions of dollars, or the billions of dollars, that Congress could appropriate for this aid, we can certainly do our part and make our splash."

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