Latest update December 29th, 2019 11:31 PM
Latest News
- International Criminal Court Prosecutor Pursues Sham Anti-Israel Investigation by Joseph Klein
- America’s Failed Jewish Leadership by Charles Jacobs and Avi Goldwasser
- Frontpage Person of the Year: The Hong Kong Protestor by Daniel Greenfield
- Who are the Black Hebrews, the group linked to Jersey City shooter? By Ron Rampeas
- sAssault on 2 Young Jewish Boys Among 4 Antisemitic Attacks in New York City in 48 Hours, Cops Confirm by Algemeiner Staff
- Attendance of Moroccan Officials at Casablanca Hanukkah Celebration Described as Historic by Shiryn Ghermezian
- IDF preparing for confrontation with Iran – Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi by Anna Ahoneim
- sJews Worldwide to Hold Mass Prayer Service for Jewish Refugees from Arab Lands By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz
- New Assault on Orthodox Jew in Brooklyn Reported
- Prominent US Reform Rabbi Warns of Growing Anti-Israel Sentiments in Democratic Party by Algemeiner Staff
Is There Hope For Israel At The United Nations? By Joseph Puder
The United Nations (UN) as an institution is not known to be a paragon of virtue, nor is it friendly toward Israel or sensitive to Jewish concerns. In fact, antisemitism resides deep within its agencies. As a whole it is an organization whose majority members are not democracies, and many are oppressive regimes. The members of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) are a case in point of oppressive regimes whose voice at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) dominates. Israel has served for decades as the “whipping boy” or scapegoat of the UNGA and various UN agencies. In fact, the General Assembly passed Resolution 3379 on November 10, 1975 with the combined Soviet, Islamic and Third World blocs equating “Zionism (the Jewish national liberation movement) with racism.” The resolution was repealed on December 16, 1991.
The Arab/Muslim bloc used its power to establish and authorize funding for several UN committees and divisions of the Secretariat which primarily carry out the anti-Israel agenda. Among these are: The Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat, “The Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices in the Territories,” and “The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.” Today, these committees continue to be engaged in promoting programs and initiatives that are harshly critical of Israel.
On December 23, 2016, the Security Council passed Resolution 2334, which condemned Israeli settlement building, and labeled settlements as a “major obstacle” to peace. The resolution passed 14-0, with the U.S. abstaining. It was the first Security Council resolution to deal specifically with settlements in over 35 years. Israel rejected the resolution, and Israel’s Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon said it was a reward for the Palestinians that encouraged them “to continue down a dangerous path they have chosen” of avoiding direct negotiations with Israel.” In December, 2017, the U.S. vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling on President Trump to reverse the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. In June, 2018, the U.S. vetoed a resolution condemning Israel for using excessive force toward Palestinian protesters along the Gaza border. There was no mention of Hamas in the resolution. A second resolution that did reference Hamas’s role failed to pass.
Since its entry into the UN in 1949, Israel was barred by the Arab/Muslim bloc of states and their Third World allies from joining its natural region as all other UN member states do. In Israel’s case, it is the Asian Regional Group. Arab member states of the UN have used the UNGA as a forum to isolate and condemn Israel, with support from Non-Aligned Movement members. In May, 2000, Israel was finally granted admission into a group – the Western and Others Group (WEOG). In 2013, Israel was invited to join WEOG in Geneva, the seat of several UN bodies and subsidiary organizations.
The UN Human Rights Council was re-created in 2006. Since then, more resolutions condemning Israel passed than the entire rest of the world combined, with 45 resolutions, which amounted to 45.9% of all country-specific resolutions. With most of the 47 member UNHRC being non-democratic repressive regimes, those passing resolutions against Israel include Iran, Cuba, China, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, to name but a few.
The permanent agenda of the HRC specifically targets Israel. Its Agenda Item #7, titled, “Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories, includes: Human rights violations and implications of the Israeli occupation of Palestine and other occupied Arab territories and the Right to self-determination of the Palestinian people.” Israel is the only country to appear on the HRC’s permanent agenda, while other countries such as Iran and Sudan, notorious for their human rights abuses, are included as part of the general debate. U.S. ambassador Nikki Haley, declaring the U.S. withdrawal from the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), told the Heritage Foundation (July 18, 2018) that the UNHRC controversial Agenda #7 is “designed to undermine Israel’s existence.” She added, “No other country, not Iran, not Syria, not North Korea, has an agenda item devoted to it.”
The UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is another biased UN agency with its bias toward Israel. In July 2017, UNESCO World Heritage Committee voted to designate the old city of Hebron, including the Tomb of the Patriarchs, as a “World Heritage in Danger,” and listed the site as part of the State of Palestine. The U.S., along with Israel, withdrew from UNESCO membership.
Still, thanks to the likes of Nikki Haley, things have begun to improve a bit for Israel at the UN. Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, was elected in June 2017, to serve as the Deputy President of the United Nations General Assembly. He will begin his role with the 72nd General Assembly. Former Israeli ambassador to the UN, Ron Prosor, also served in the role in 2012.
In 2016, Danon was elected as chairman of the Legal Committee of the UN. The UN’s Legal Committee deals with all of the organization’s activities regarding international law, including the status of the additional protocols of the Geneva Convention and coordinating its fight against terrorism. One of Danon’s first tasks in his new position will be to further the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. It was the first time that Israel secured a victory at the UN. Responding to his election, Danon said, “I am proud to be the first Israeli elected to this position.” He added, “Israel is a world leader in international law and in fighting terrorism. We are pleased to have the opportunity to share our knowledge with the countries of the world.”
Together with the U.S., Israel brought up a resolution to condemn the Palestinian Islamist terrorist group Hamas, as a “global problem.” 87 states endorsed the resolution. Jewish heritage and culture are now part of the UN institutions, according to Danon. Yom Kippur has been recognized for the first time ever as a formal observable holiday, and Kosher food has been added to the UN cafeteria. Other major Jewish holidays are likewise marked by official celebrations.
Israel Hayom reported (September 24, 2019) that “Israeli, Jewish and pro-Israel groups all applauded the publication of an “unprecedented” UN report on anti-Semitism, which, among other issues, links anti-Semitism to criticism of Israel and the BDS movement.” According to Anne Herzberg, Legal advisor and UN Liaison at NGO Monitor, “This report marks one of the first times the UN has addressed the issue of anti-Semitism in any detail.” She added, “The Special Rapporteur condemned the use of anti-Semitic tropes and denial of Israel’s right to exist by BDS activists.”
Danny Danon commented that “we welcome the release of this unprecedented report on the subject of anti-Semitism. The report reflects the organizational change toward Israel. The assertion that the BDS movement encourages anti-Semitism is an important UN statement. As I have said many times, anti-Semitism has no place in our society, and must be denounced everywhere and from every platform.”
Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, is proud of Israel’s achievements. He observed that the UN is no longer the organization of the Goldstone Report with charges of Israeli “war crimes.” In 2019, the UN is no longer the home field of Israel-bashers. These days, Danon believes, many states support Israel’s initiatives in international forums.
Perhaps Danon is right, albeit, it is hard to believe that a leopard can change is spots. Unfortunately, it is not only the leopards who reside in the UN, there are snakes too.
Related articles
More in this category
OUR SITES אתרי מבט
Zechariah’s Vision of Plague of Rotting Flesh Appears in China By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz
(Photo: Aish.com / YouTube)
Despite advances in modern medicine, China is setting up roadblocks to cope with an outbreak of an ancient plague that once wiped out one-third of the world’s population and may have been one of the plagues that God used to strike Egypt.
Chinese officials installed temperature scanners at airports and checkpoints on main roads in an attempt to stop the spread of Bubonic plague as a fourth case was discovered in less than three weeks. A program to exterminate rats and fleas, which carry the disease, was also launched in Inner Mongolia where the disease seems to be originating.
Top European Lawyers Honor Iranian Human Rights Advocates With Prestigious Award
Demonstrators gather in solidarity with anti-regime protests in Iran outside the Iranian Embassy in Helsinki, Finland. Photo: Reuters / Lehtikuva / Heikki Saukkomaa.
Four human rights lawyers currently imprisoned by the Iranian regime have been awarded with the annual prize of Europe’s most prestigious lawyers’ association.
The Iranian lawyers received the 2019 Human Rights Award from The Council of Bars and Law Societies Of Europe (CCBE) — a body that represents the bars and law societies of 45 countries and through them more than 1 million European lawyers.
UK Jewish Groups Welcome University of Bristol’s Adoption International Antisemitism Definition
The University of Bristol campus. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
The University of Bristol in England has adopted “in full” the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, the school’s Epigram independent student newspaper reported on Monday.
The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) and Bristol’s Jewish Society (J-Soc) welcomed the move, saying, “The University of Bristol has not been free of antisemitic incidents and the adoption of this definition is an important first step in helping the university tackle anti-Jewish racism. We now expect the university to use this definition in outstanding disciplinary cases.”
Pope Advances One World Religion Agenda: Presents Buddhist Leader with Manifesto
Pope Francis Meets Thailand’s Buddhist Patriarch in Golden Temple (screenshot)
Pope Francis topped off his three-day visit to Thailand last Saturday with a meeting with Thailand’s supreme Buddhist patriarch Somdej Phra Maha Muneewong at Bangkok’s Ratchabophit Temple. The meeting took place in front of a 150-year-old gold statue of Buddha. The Pope followed Buddhist custom by removing his shoes.
During the meeting, the Pope gave the Buddhist Patriarch the Declaration on Human Brotherhood. The Declaration s a joint statement signed by Pope Francis of the Catholic Church and Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, last February in Abu Dhabi. The Pope met with the Imam last month to reinforce the Declaration.
Israeli Company Seeks to Use Space Technology to Solve Pressing Pollution Problem on Earth by Lauren Izso
An Israeli company says it is using space travel technology to help solve one of the most pressing problems down on Earth — the reliance on diesel fuel, a major source of pollution.
Israeli startup GenCell has developed an electric generator based on a hydrogen-energy technology used to power some of the most-famous space missions in history.
New Column!
shlomo vile : How Christian Zionism Reveals the Unity of God
The verse (Deuteronomy 6:4) Shema Yisrael – “Hear Oh Israel the Lord our God, the Lord is One” – is understood to (in Wikipedia’s words) “encapsulate the monotheistic essence of Judaism.” It’s understood to be a declaration not only there is one and only one God, but also that God’s oneness is all-inclusive. God includes every particle of existence is within Him. God is not just ruling over the world. God encompasses the world. Time and space and all of us are within God. Nothing stands outside of God’s Oneness, and God encompasses all existence equally
Caroline Glick : The Split Screen
Watching events unfold in Israel is an experience in split-screen living. On the right side of the screen is the chaos outside our gates, in neighboring lands. And on the left side of the screen is the chaos inside.
On the left side of the screen on Tuesday, 15,000 Israelis gathered Tuesday evening outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art to demand legal justice for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the face of what they view as an anti-democratic usurpation of political power by Israel’s legal fraternity.
David Nekrutman :A Simple Thank You to our Christian Friends
It hard to believe that two weeks ago, Israel was on the brink of war. With the Palestinian Islamic Jihad firing nearly 500 missiles from Gaza into Israel within a 48-hour period, even Tel Aviv was put on alert and certain train routes were canceled. My mind immediately raced to a Christian group I was going to host for Shabbat in Jerusalem Israel – Pastor Leroy Armstrong of Proclaiming the Word Ministries.
Raymond Ibrahim : Turkey: Reliving the Glory/Gory Days of Jihad
Turkey’s little remarked on but ongoing mistreatment of historic churches is increasingly reflective of that nation’s growing sense of Islamic supremacism.
Before the Turks invaded it, Anatolia (present day Turkey) was an ancient Christian region; a large chunk of St. Paul’s epistles were sent to or dealt with its churches, including the seven of the Apocalypse. With the Turks’ conquest, colonization, and subsequent Turkification of Anatolia—hence why it’s now simply called “Turkey”—tens of thousands of churches were systematically desecrated and turned into victory mosques.
Ronn Torossian: Why Do American Jews Stand With Terrorists Families?
Sorek was the grandson of a Rabbi who survived the Holocaust, and was universally described as a kind, gentle soul. His funeral was interrupted by Palestinians shooting off fireworks celebrating his murder.
Two terrorists, including one affiliated with Hamas were arrested for the murder. And at the time, Hamas said in a statement, “We salute the hero fighters, sons of our people, who carried out the heroic operation which killed a soldier of the occupation army,” Hamas said in a statement. The Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad also hailed the killing as “heroic and bold.”