A Jerusalem City Council member is attempting to shut down a United Nations Relief and Works Agency Facebook campaign which is using Facebook to raise money ahead of Giving Tuesday.
"Giving Tuesday is one week away and Facebook is matching donations made to UNWRA USA up to $100,000," the UN humanitarian relief agency wrote on Facebook.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
In response, Dan Illouz, a Jerusalem City Council member, launched a social media campaign of his own: Taking to crowdsourcing platform Drove, Illouz called on those who oppose giving money to UNWRA to sign the petition asking for Facebook to suspend the campaign.
"UNRWA is a terror-supporting organization that incites against Israel, glorifies terrorism and advocates for the right of return," Illouz wrote. "Textbooks in UNRWA schools are full of hatred, UNRWA helps Hamas hide rockets in Gaza, and UNRWA promoted the right of return that means the destruction of Israel as a Jewish state."
He also accused the organization of impeding the co-existence of Jews and Arabs in east Jerusalem and called the organization a "strategic threat to our city and to peace."
Unfortunately for Illouz, though, as of this writing, only some 900 people have signed the petition thus far. Illouz needs at least 5,000.
However, Illouz is not discouraged by the turnout.
"While the short amount of notice makes it harder to get a larger number, I believe those who signed the petition represent the prevailing voice in Israel," he told Israel Hayom, adding that many signatories came from beyond Israel's borders as well.
Illouz said he's contacted Facebook about their campaign, but the social media giant did not respond. Illouz hopes a stronger showing in the petition would compel Facebook issue some sort of comment.
This is not the first time Illouz rallied against UNWRA. Just last month, he wrote an op-ed against the organization and accused it of using its status "as a cover for subversive actions against the State of Israel."
As for UNWRA, the organization has faced a challenging year.
Last month, UNRWA head Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl resigned amid an investigation into misconduct allegations.
And last year, US President Donald Trump unilaterally halted all US funding to the relief organization sending it into a financial tailspin.
Reuters contributed to this report.
