This week's edition features an insider's look at the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and its recent work in Gaza.
UNRWA's fate remains uncertain a week after Israel accused a dozen of its employees of participating in the October 7 attacks. The agency's two biggest donors—the United States and Germany—and approximately a dozen other nations pulled funding, which could interrupt shelters, schools, health-care clinics, and aid deliveries for thousands of Palestinians.
Paul Spiegel, who deployed late last year to Jordan and Egypt as a strategic health advisor for UNRWA, writes about his personal and professional views as a person of Jewish heritage with decades of humanitarian experience in conflict zones. He explains what it takes to preserve humanitarian principles amid political firestorms.
Next, journalist Isabella Rolz draws attention to migrant reunions in the United States and the difficulties families face as they try to integrate with American culture—and each other.
Closing out this week, Ana Braun, a student from the Czech Republic now studying in Boston, recounts how a recent mass shooting in her hometown of Prague "felt inconceivable" and ignited a debate on gun control.
Until next week!—Nsikan Akpan, Managing Editor, and Caroline Kantis, Associate Editor
