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The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law has asked the Justice Department to investigate potential Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) violations by UNRWA USA, citing its fundraising and advocacy for the UN Palestinian refugee agency and findings linking agency personnel to Hamas. The Washington nonprofit’s 2024 accounts report $51.4 million in contributions and grants and $44.4 million in contributions to UNRWA. The October 22, 2026, letter alleges that UNRWA USA acts as an unregistered foreign agent through coordinated fundraising, lobbying and publicity.
Funding an Agency With Hamas-Linked Personnel
The complaint cites a June 5, 2026, report in which USAID’s inspector general referred 101 current or former UNRWA employees for possible suspension or debarment over alleged participation in the October 7, 2023, attacks or affiliation with Hamas’s military wing. Investigators identified a teacher ordered to bring two anti-tank missiles during the attacks and a principal assigned to a Hamas military manufacturing unit whose school had a tunnel shaft underneath. Former principal Hafez Mousa Mohammed Mousa received a ten-year debarment from U.S. contracting and grants after investigators found he coordinated communications during October 7 as a Hamas operative.
An April 2025 Israeli assessment cited in the letter classified 1,462 of 12,521 UNRWA employees in Gaza working in 2023–2024 as members of Hamas or other terrorist organizations, based on intelligence cross-checks. A separate 2024 UN inquiry found possible October 7 involvement by nine of 19 employees, and UNRWA announced their dismissal.
Restoring Funds and Lobbying Congress
UNRWA USA paused fundraising and disbursements in January 2024 after allegations against UNRWA employees. On April 8, it announced their resumption with an immediate $5 million disbursement, citing consultation with counsel, UNRWA risk controls and other governments’ decisions to restore funding.
In April 2026, its advocates from 15 states met more than 50 congressional offices to seek support for legislation restoring U.S. funding. It also led 104 organizations in a December 2025 appeal to Secretary of State Marco Rubio for UNRWA’s inclusion in Gaza’s recovery. Its publicity programs include interviews with UNRWA leaders and an alumni network seeking to build American support.
Its audited accounts disclose a cooperative agreement covering joint charitable and educational activities and a master agreement governing grants to UNRWA. Brandeis cites regular staff contact, joint project oversight and advocacy to argue that the nonprofit must register as a foreign agent. It also argues that lobbying and support for education, summer camps and construction extend beyond FARA’s exemption for certain fundraising limited to medical assistance, food and clothing.
Zohran Mamdani, then New York City’s Democratic mayoral nominee, said he ran the NYC Gaza 5K in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on October 12, 2025, to raise money for UNRWA USA. He described it as his third time participating and urged followers to donate. UNRWA’s 2025 impact report says the event drew more than 5,000 participants and raised over $2 million.
A Board Appointee’s Role as Spokesperson On Hamas-Linked Flotilla
UNRWA USA announced Rania Batrice’s board appointment in 2025. An Associated Press report, republished May 21, 2026, identified her as a spokesperson for the Global Sumud Flotilla. Two days earlier, Treasury sanctioned Saif Hashim Kamel Abukishek, identifying him as a Popular Conference for Palestinians Abroad (PCPA) official and a flotilla steering committee member. Treasury had designated the PCPA on January 21, describing it as Hamas-controlled and a major organizer of Gaza flotillas.
Controversial Partners and Terrorism-Related Allegations
UNRWA USA’s partners include Human Appeal and Helping Hand for Relief and Development (HHRD). Human Appeal’s UK accounts record £4.7 million in grants during 2020–2023 to Gaza’s Islamic Zakat Society, which Middle East Forum described as Hamas-linked.
A 2019 resolution introduced by Rep. Jim Banks accused HHRD of partnering in 2017 with Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF), a U.S.-designated alias of Lashkar-e-Taiba.
By April 2026, UNRWA USA’s donor base had grown from 7,000 to more than 200,000 since October 2023, according to CEO Mara Kronenfeld. She said those donors had raised over $100 million for UNRWA-led assistance.