New Documentary by Zygote Films Exposes How UNRWA Perpetuates the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

"UNraveling UNRWA" Features Full Spectrum of Palestinian, Israeli and International Voices

Screenings in NYC to Coincide with December UN General Assembly Vote on Renewing UNRWA's Mandate

NEW YORK, Nov. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Award-winning German and Israeli filmmakers have released details of UNraveling UNRWA, a new documentary by Zygote Films offering the first comprehensive look at the history of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and its relevance after October 7. The film features a wide range of Palestinian, Arab, Israeli and international voices—including former UNRWA staff and Palestinian refugees—tracing the agency's influence since its founding in 1949. With a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, a December UN vote on renewing UNRWA's mandate, and members of the US Congress and President Trump's administration blocking aid and calling for UNRWA to disband, UNRWA's future is again at the center of global debate.

Scheduled for general release in early 2026, "UNraveling UNRWA" is directed by Duki Dror, an award-winning documentary filmmaker with over 30 films to his name, including Inside the Mossad (Netflix), Lebanon—Borders of Blood (WDR/KAN/ARTE), and Supernova: The Music Festival Massacre, recipient of the German Academy Award. His work deciphers recent history through morally complex storytelling, revealing the truths behind political rhetoric and challenging viewers to look beyond surface narratives. In collaboration with Germany's Beetz Brothers Film Production, and with film crews in the Middle East, Europe and the US, this new documentary presents a multifaceted international perspective.

"The involvement of UNRWA employees in the Hamas led attacks of October 7th has been well documented, but it's a symptom of a much larger issue that until now has been untold," according to Dror. "While UNRWA is understandably bestowed with god-like praise from most Palestinians for its humanitarian work, in parallel, by actively encouraging the Palestinian right of return, UNRWA is prolonging the crisis and undermining the two-state solution it professes to support."

Key UNRWA, UN, Palestinian, Israeli and international experts appear in the film, including:

• Scott Anderson, head of UNRWA operations (2023-2025), following a decade in senior field roles in the West Bank and Gaza
• Mohammad Dajani Daoudi, Professor & Executive Director of the Wasatia Academic Institute in Jerusalem
• Peter Hansen, Commissioner General, UNRWA (1996-2005)
• Niclas Herbst, EU Parliament Member
• Hamza Abu Howidy, Palestinian Refugee and Human Rights Advocate
• James G. Lindsay, UNRWA Legal Advisor (2000-2007)
• Dr. Einat Wilf, Knesset Member (2010-2013) and Author, The War on Return

"This documentary makes a genuine effort to show both the good that UNRWA has done, and in some cases still does, and the political function UNRWA performs in the views of many, perhaps most, Palestine refugees," said James Lindsay, former UNRWA legal advisor. "It also highlights the multi-generational issues that arise—and the consequent harm—when most refugees remain in camps, are not encouraged to integrate into the broader societies around them, and are exposed to an education that promotes hostility toward Israelis and Jews, rather than alternative points of view."

UNraveling UNRWA was the winner in the Investigative Documentary Award category at the 2025 Haifa International Film Festival. It has been selected to appear next year at the Paris Israeli Film Festival (March 2026) Atlanta Jewish Film Festival (February 2026) Philadelphia Israeli Film Festival (March 2026) and Toronto Jewish Film Festival (June 2026).

"As filmmakers we hope to capture the central tension, that all the actors, including the Israeli government, are guilty of kicking the can down the road and being unwilling to finally address UNRWA's pivotal yet inherently problematic role," Dror continued. "Unlike other refugee populations which have been resettled, aided by the largest and longest acting UN relief agency that is solely dedicated to the residents of Gaza and the West Bank, the world has kept five generations of Palestinians in limbo, which is both an outrage to them as well as a source of unending hate and terrorism against Israel."

There will be upcoming private screenings of the 75 minute documentary before it is released in the spring 2026:

• Wednesday, November 26th, in Tel Aviv, Cinematheque
• Tuesday, December 2nd, in New York City, Marlene Meyerson JCC
• Wednesday, December 3rd, in New York City, near the United Nations

"UNRWA offers a unique window into the Middle East," said Reinhardt Beetz, founder and co-CEO of Beetz Brothers Film Production. "It began as a force for good but has been misused. Our film gives decision makers the insight to judge whether UNRWA should continue, be reformed, or shut down."

For more information, please visit UNraveling UNRWA's website or on social media at @unrwafilm.

About UNraveling UNRWA

In the wake of the October 7th massacre and allegations implicating UNRWA staff in kidnappings, UNraveling UNRWA examines the global fallout and Israel's move to cut ties with the agency amid Gaza's humanitarian crisis. The film traces UNRWA's 75-year arc—from a temporary post-1948 relief body to a central and controversial player in the region's unresolved conflict.

For media inquiries, please contact:
Alyssa Meyer
212-362-1307
[email protected] 

SOURCE Zygote Films