The national Girl Scouts organization apologized for a regional council’s legal threat against a St. Louis troop raising money for children in Gaza.
Nawal Abuhamdeh, of St. Louis, started a bracelet-making fundraiser with her troop in mid-January. The regional council sent her emails that the activity violated their policies and to remove all Girl Scout branding from their online flyer or face legal action. The local troop decided to disband from the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri.
Bonnie Barczykowski, chief executive officer for Girl Scouts of the USA, responded to a letter sent by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which asked for an internal investigation of the incident. The council also asked that troops be allowed to raise funds for the worsening humanitarian crisis facing the children of Gaza since the war with Israel began.
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“We are disappointed and disheartened by what recently transpired. We sincerely regret any hurt caused,” Barczykowski said. She added that the national organization had not approved the language threatening legal action against the St. Louis troop sent in an email by the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri.
Former troop leader Nawal Abuhamdeh and her 10-year-old daughter, Mariyah Abdelbaset have continued their fundraising for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund after disbanding from the Girl Scouts of Eastern Missouri.
“GSUSA will be working alongside our council partners to review this incident and make the necessary adjustments to prevent it from happening in the future. We realize we missed an opportunity to champion our troops while they make a difference,” she wrote.
The girls have restarted their independent fundraiser, braceletsForPalestine.bigcartel.com. Since their story made national headlines, they have raised $10,000 for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Abuhamdeh said.
Her daughter, Mariyah Abdelbaset, 10, said she was initially discouraged when they had been told to stop, especially because she had seen other Girl Scout fundraisers for war victims in Ukraine and Israel.
“I feel like it was unfair that that the Girl Scouts encouraged doing something right for Ukraine but not something right for Gaza,” Mariyah said.
The United Nations has called Gaza “a graveyard for children,” with about 12,000 children killed in the aftermath of Israel’s military response to Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7.
The girls, who are no longer part of Girl Scouts, were selling the bracelets for $5 or $10, depending on the style. All the proceeds went to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund.
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, Council on American-Islamic Relations national deputy director, said the group welcomes the Girl Scouts’ apology as a positive first step. He wants to continue the conversation about allowing Girl Scout troops to raise money for Gaza as the humanitarian crisis becomes even more dire.
Abuhamdeh said her former troop had wanted to do something good for a situation that has caused them grief and heartbreak. She told them that their decision to disband and continue their fundraiser is having an impact beyond what they could have imagined.
“Now, we are going to help so many people,” she said.
