[The following, by Vic Rosenthal, is crossposted from FresnoZionism.]

There is probably no single political action that has done more to prevent peace between Israel and the Arabs than the cynical exploitation of the descendants of the Arab refugees of the 1948 war. John Ging is the head of UNRWA, the UN refugee agency which does the dirty work of keeping the 'Palestinian refugees' living in camps for the Arab nations, who will agree to no form of resettlement except 'return' to Israel.

He's the perfect guy for the job: here is a fact sheet on John Ging from NGO Monitor:

November 4, 2010

The Role of John Ging, UNRWA Director in Gaza, in Political Warfare

John Ging has been the head of the United Nation Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza since 2006. In this role, Ging has promoted political warfare targeting Israel, as illustrated by the following quotes:

• Support for "Free Gaza flotillas" provoking violent confrontations with Israel: In May 2010, Ging expressed support for flotillas to Gaza, encouraging the world to "send ships to the shores of Gaza": "Many human rights organizations have been successful in previous similar steps, and proved that breaking the siege on Gaza is possible." In fact, most flotillas have been comprised of fringe activists from ISM, ICAHD, Viva Palestina, and the IHH terror organization. One week after Ging's remarks, the "Free Gaza" flotilla initiated a violent confrontation with the Israeli navy, resulting in nine deaths.
• Promoting Palestinian victimization: "I am delighted that the Elders come again to Gaza...The truth that...we are in the fourth year of an illegal, inhumane and counterproductive blockade on 1.5 million innocent civilians...it has taken the tragic deaths of activists on a flotilla to generate this new level of political clarity and resolve... Whether it is realized or not depends on the triumph of truth over propaganda and legality over illegality. The fate of children well beyond the borders of Gaza is at stake." ("Gaza: The simple truths that go untold," John Ging, The Elders, October 16, 2010)
• "Stripped of their dignity": "The situation is very desperate at the humanitarian level, I mean people have been stripped of their dignity here, it is a struggle to survive for every body." ("UN aid chief to EI: Gaza people 'stripped of their dignity'", Electronic Initfada, November 25, 2008)
• "Sub-human existence" in Gaza: "There's a very sub-human existence for the general population... The definitions of a humanitarian crisis are rather obscene when compared with just how people are having to struggle to survive here..." ("'A disaster for everybody'", Guardian UK, May 12, 2008)
• "Immoral equivalence" on Gilad Shalit (comparing the kidnapped Israeli soldier to Palestinian terrorists): "Equally, there must be action to end all violence emanating from Gaza into Israel and to secure the release of Gilad Shalit and Palestinians administratively detained in Israeli prisons, including more than 300 children." ("Gaza: The simple truths that go untold," John Ging, The Elders, October 16, 2010)
• Demonization of Israel: Ging's condemnation of Israel for allegedly causing 43 civilian deaths in an UNRWA school in Jabalya, Gaza on January 6, 2009 fuelled false accusations of an Israeli "massacre" and demonization of Israel. Ging's statements erased the fact that Hamas fighters were in the immediate vicinity of the school, and that the deaths occurred outside the school grounds. Three weeks later Ging admitted, "I know no one was killed in the school," and acknowledged that all three Israeli mortar shells landed outside the school. (For more on Ging's role, see CAMERA's "UNRWA's Omissions Distort Coverage of Jabaliya Tragedy," February 4, 2009)

Does John Ging sound like a "pro-Israel" figure to you? Would you invite him to speak to people interested in peace in the Middle East?

Well, the phony 'pro-Israel' group J Street would:

And that's not all. Recently J Street partnered with Yale's "Students for Justice in Palestine" to present Anat Biletzki, an extreme left-wing academic from Tel Aviv University. Biletzki calls for a "right of return" for Arab 'refugees' and recently co-authored a study which purports to show that there would be less terrorism if Israel stopped defending herself.

While Ging and Biletzki have a right to speak in the US, even if they are advocating for Israel's enemies and the destruction of the Jewish state, is it really the role of a "pro-Israel" organization to sponsor them?

You decide.