Cozy Corner

Dear Andy,

I have provided you with the following information (this is the “short” version--please excuse its bluntness, but I believe your frustration may be due to us having provided you with too much information, initially, in an attempt to provide you with a thorough response):

In gesture of its recognition of itself as a developed country, Israel has declared itself autonomous from UNICEF and is now a donor. In acknowledgement of our relationship with Israel and our worldwide humanitarian work, Israel has formed its own Committee for UNICEF. Israel not only has not requested our aid during this current conflict--it has not given us permission to enter the country. Furthermore, Israel understands the purpose and focus of UNICEF (the children!) and is supportive of our worldwide work--including our work in Lebanon. Israel does not want UNICEF to divert supplies or energies to aid Israel--it has declared itself capable of caring for its own children at this time.

If you will provide me with information regarding any political statements made by UNICEF or the U.S. Fund for UNICEF or staff members regarding the nation of Israel, which we have a history and deep-rooted relationship with, I will be happy to forward it on to be investigated. UNICEF is an apolitical humanitarian organization and it operates its life-saving efforts for the neediest children in the most underdeveloped countries and regions under the most hazardous conditions, regardless of race, religion, nationality, or adult conflict, which has no bearing on our commitment and dedication. We do not tolerate discrimination in our organization.

For further information on the conflict in the Middle East (particularly the status of the smallest victims), please visit:

U.S. Fund for UNICEF - please review organization policy on “sidebar” (on right, in blue type)

UNICEF - Latest profiles and updates

Israel’s Committee for UNICEF - (please be patient as the homepage is not in English but the links compensate as you click around).

Thank you for your support for the world’s children, and please feel free to contact us if you require further information. We will be happy to assist you.

My reply:

Thank you for your response. I spent some time browsing through the various sites. I had also not realized that Israel was not allowing UNICEF into the country.

Just to be clear, I believe UNICEF does wonderful work (how else would I be on your donor mailing list?). Period. No qualifications.

My frustrations are with statements like this:

To date, the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah has left 670 people dead and 3,125 injured in Lebanon alone. UNICEF believes one third are children.

The simple act of only calling out the numbers in Lebanon is an implicit act of taking sides; anyone who has compassion, but is not actively educating themselves, will not see that this conflict is taking a toll on all children, not just the Lebanese children. This assumption then builds into Hizb'allah's message to the world that Israel is the problem in region. While I realize that part of UNICEF's strength is that it is apolitical, and one of the few neutral parties left in the world (a qualification which I do not give to much of the rest of the UN); messages like this one tend to touch a cord for those of us frustrated with seeing Israel painted as an aggressor, and the world media cooperating.

On the flip side, I see a positive light in articles like this:

In listening to the young people in Gaza, Lebanon and northern Israel talk—about smoke-filled skies, rushing to bomb shelters and missing their chance to swim in the summer—their similarities are much more striking than their differences. The main thing they share is that they are all young people, poised on the edge of adulthood, and wondering whether theirs will be a life of fear and danger… or a life of peace.

Again, thank you for taking the time to more fully educate me on the issues at hand. Reading through the sidebar, and the earlier messages, I think what strikes me now as different from in your message is the use of active voice in the present situation; I would, very respectfully, suggest the addition of an acknowledgement of the private and government relief efforts in Israel filling the same need that UNICEF is filling for the Lebanese children - effectively, the last line in your concise summary.

Again, thank you,

Andy