Palestinian Refugees
and "Right of Return"

BACKGROUNDER: The Palestinian Claim to a “Right of Return”

Do Palestinians who fled Israel in 1948, and their descendants, have a legal or moral right to return to their former homes in Israel? Is it true that most other refugees around the world have already exercised such rights of repatriation?

BACKGROUNDER: Camp David 2000

Many media accounts have misrepresented the "final status" issues that are now the subject of intensive negotiations at Camp David, often distorting Oslo, UN resolutions, the demographics and history of Jerusalem, and Middle East history in general.

Reuters Crams Gaza Residents into Refugee Camps

UPDATED: Reuters commendably corrects after erroneously reporting that most residents of the Gaza Strip live in refugee camps. According to the UN, around 25 percent reside in refugee camps.

PBS’ NewsHour Joins the Fundraising Campaign on Behalf of UNRWA

While the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine is grappling with a serious funding shortfall, the controversial organization enjoys vast marketing and public relations resources, drawing on the support of sympathetic journalists. PBS' NewsHour is the latest media outlet to join the campaign.

Forbes’ Fundraising Appeal on Behalf of UNRWA

"UNRWA is extraordinary–with an amazing cadre of educators and staff that need support" is the message of what is essentially a Forbes fundraising appeal for the U.N. agency. Don't expect to read anything about anti-Israel incitement in schools, perpetuation of the conflict or mismanagement.

Deutsche Welle Corrects: UN Resolution 194 Doesn’t Guarantee ‘Right of Return’

CAMERA prompts a forthright, thorough correction after Deutsche Welle erroneously reported that UN Resolution 194 "guaranteed" the Palestinian "right of return." The General Assembly resolution is a suggestion, not a guarantee, conditions return on refugees willing to live at peace with their neighbors, and places return on equal footing with resettlement and compensation.

VOA Deletes Video Which Grossly Inflated Number of Struggling Refugees in Gaza

In response to communication from CAMERA, Voice of America deletes a video which grossly overstated the number of refugees in the Gaza Strip suffering from poverty and unemployment. The June 12 VOA Extremism Watch video cited five million refugees facing these difficulties, more than double the territory's entire population.

Haaretz: 5.5 Million Palestinians ‘Fled Their Native Lands’

Haaretz erases the United Nations' distinction between the unique mandate for Palestinian refugees, which includes their descendants for perpetuity, versus refugees from the rest of the world, who don't pass on their refugee status, and falsely reports that 5.5 million Palestinians "fled their native lands."