By Kenneth Bandler
NEW YORK — The American Jewish Committee (AJC) denounced the UN General Assembly’s adoption of resolutions singling out Israel for condemnation. The resolutions have become an annual exercise spanning decades, with too few nations, notably Canada, the United States, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Nauru and Palau voting against them.
“This annual UN ritual does nothing, absolutely nothing, to advance peace,” said AJC Executive Director David Harris. “Today, when nations across the Middle East, Europe and around the world, are mobilizing to confront radical Islamist forces — the most imminent threat to regional and global security — the automatic adoption of resolutions criticizing Israel is particularly outlandish and completely out of touch with reality.”
If past is prologue, the UN General Assembly is expected by the end of the year to adopt 20 resolutions singling out Israel, while remaining deafeningly silent about many other country situations crying out for the world body’s attention. Among the resolutions passed this week were renewals of the Division for Palestinian Rights in the UN Secretariat and the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, two UN-funded bodies that have served since the Cold War as round-the-clock propaganda machines for the Palestinians.
Needless to say, none of the anti-Israel resolutions mention the recent escalation in deadly Palestinian attacks against Israelis or the incitement that encourages the violence.
“The only path to achieving comprehensive, sustainable Israeli-Palestinian peace is direct talks, a principle that the majority of UN member states inexplicably continue to ignore by this annual exercise,” said Harris. “Indeed, moderate Arab countries should be taking the lead in pressing President Abbas to return to the negotiating table with Israel instead of pursuing these pointless end-runs.”
The absurdity of the roster of UN General Assembly resolutions condemning Israel was further demonstrated by a Syrian-sponsored measure, adopted by a vote of 105 to 6, with 56 abstentions, demanding that Israel end its occupation of the Golan Heights.
“Seriously? Let’s remember, first, that Israel acquired the Golan Heights during its defensive war in June 1967, when both Syria and Egypt threatened Israel with total annihilation,” said Harris. “Now fast forward. Given the current chaos throughout Syria, stemming from the cataclysmic war Assad launched on his own people in 2011, UN condemnation of Israel regarding the Golan is simply ghoulish. Does the UN really want Israel to withdraw and hand over the Golan Heights to the murderous Assad regime? Or perhaps to ISIS, which also controls a big swath of Syria? In other words, isn’t it high time for UN member states — only six of whom had the principle to oppose this measure — to stop slavishly following whatever initiative emanates from within the Arab League and start making a positive contribution to conflict resolution?”
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Bandler is Media Relations Director for the American Jewish Committee,