(Photo: Andres Lacko)
NEW YORK (Press Release)– World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder delivered remarks Sunday at the Jerusalem Post Annual Conference in New York, condemning the United Nations for its harmful anti-Semitic rhetoric, and for becoming little more than an anti-Israel political cartel. Lauder was joined by an array of Israeli ministers, Knesset members and officials, including Danny Danon, Israel Ambassador to the United Nations and Ron Dermer, Israel’s Ambassador to the United States among others.
Lauder exposed the UN for being a hotbed of anti-Israel hatred and a platform to denounce the country, calling into question the number of resolutions passed by the Human Rights Council. Since its inception in 2006, the Human Rights Council has passed 67 resolutions condemning the state of Israel, a shocking number compared to the 61 resolutions passed on the rest of the world combined. Lauder pointed a finger to last week’s UNESCO resolution about changing the names of Jewish historic sites in Jerusalem to Arabic names in which the French government has since said that the vote was a mistake. Lauder stated that there have already been too many mistakes, and that the U.S., as a friend of Israel, should reconsider how much funding it provides the UN.
“The UN’s twisted obsession with the Jewish state has undermined the UN’s role in the world. If the UN is going to restore its diminished standing, it needs to stop giving voice to tyrants who would rather point the world’s finger at Israel than risk having it pointed at themselves. Only then can the UN be a temple of peace, and not a cauldron of hatred.”
These same anti-Israel beliefs are being trickled down from the institution, with the increase of anti-Semitic propaganda and Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement groups found on college campuses such as the Students for Justice in Palestine and the Muslim Students Association.
Lauder stated, “These two student groups are little more than a recruiting tool for the Muslim Brotherhood. They defend Hamas and advance its propaganda.”
Mr. Lauder concluded his remarks with a reference to Pope Francis’s comments regarding the lack of distinction between anti-Israel and anti-Semitism, and urged and ignited people to take action by putting pressure on both the United States and the United Nations. Lauder stated that there is no better time to achieve peace than the present, and that the President of the United States should be an active partner in the efforts for peace. In his speech, Lauder also laid out plans from the World Jewish Congress to create a network of Jewish political organizations at key colleges and universities in an effort to combat the growing anti-Semitism and BDS campaigns on campuses.
The full speech is below.
Boker tov and good morning. Thank you, Yaakov, for that kind introduction. Chairman Royce, Ambassador Dermer, Ambassador Danon, distinguished Ministers, members of the Knesset, honored guests: I am delighted to be here today with so many friends of Israel. And I want to thank the Jerusalem Post and Eli Azur for inviting me to speak at this timely and important conference.
We are here today at a critical moment in the fight for a vibrant and secure Jewish homeland. The stakes have never been higher. For nearly seventy years, our enemies have repeatedly tried to defeat us militarily. And they have failed. They have tried to defeat us economically. And they have failed. Now, they are trying to defeat us politically. And in this, though it pains me to say it, they are winning.
They are winning at the United Nations, which has become little more than an anti-Israel political cartel. They are winning on college campuses, where our young people are being brainwashed by anti-Israel activists who spew hatred under the guise of B-D-S. And, with each passing day without a two-state solution, they are winning the conversation about peace.
We need to change our approach. For too long, we have been silent. The era of the quiet Jew…the timid Jew…the ghetto Jew…is over! The tough, brilliant leaders of the Zionist movement buried that Jew three generations ago. So why does it still seem like we’re the victims?
That ends now. That ends today. We are done being the victims. We are done being quiet. Enough is enough! Or, as my late father used to say, genug ist genug!
We know what needs to be done. We must put an end to the UN’s appalling and sinister obsession with Israel. We must combat the threat of BDS. And we must champion peace.
Let me begin with the UN. Winston Churchill once expressed his hope that the U-N would become a “true temple of peace.” Instead, the UN today is a hotbed of anti-Israel hatred—a place where the world’s worst human rights abusers are given a platform to denounce Israel.
The UN has a long and disturbing history of holding Israel to a double standard. And that’s only gotten worse. Since the Human Rights Council was created in 2006, 67 resolutions have been passed condemning Israel, and only 61 on the rest of the world combined. Why is there such outrage against the state of Israel? Where is the outrage against Syria and Iraq, where more than 500,000 men, women and children have been slaughtered? Or North Korea, where millions have been systematically starved? Or Iran, which hangs women, gays, and dissidents from cranes?
The UN’s twisted obsession with the Jewish state has undermined the UN’s role in the world. If the UN is going to restore its diminished standing, it needs to stop giving voice to tyrants who would rather point the world’s finger at Israel than risk having it pointed at themselves. Only then can the UN be a temple of peace, and not a cauldron of hatred.
And to those countries that profess to be friends of the U.S. or that accept U.S. aid to help their economy, this is what I say to you: A vote against Israel at the UN is a vote against the United States. Last week, France voted for a UNESCO resolution changing the names of Jewish historic sites in Jerusalem to Arabic names. The French government has since said that the vote was a mistake.
But there have been too many mistakes, by too many countries, for too long. And if the UN doesn’t change, if the hatred against Israel continues, then we, the United States … we should be prepared to think seriously about who our friends really are … and we should be prepared to reevaluate how much funding we provide the UN.
Let me next discuss the threat of the BDS movement. BDS presents itself as some sort of democratic movement concerned with human rights.
That’s a lie. On the contrary, BDS is an international campaign to incite hostility against the Jewish homeland and erode its legitimacy. There are really two dimensions to BDS. The first is boycotts of Israeli products, professors, and performers, and the many extraordinary ideas and accomplishments Israel exports.
I want to focus today on the second front in the BDS fight—our colleges and universities. I have long believed that our greatest asset is our children and their education. But from the moment our children arrive at school, they face a barrage of anti-Israeli lies.
This is particularly harmful because, for many young people, college is their first exposure to the history and politics of the Middle East. These young people are vulnerable to the propaganda of anti-Israel activists, who hide behind misleading names like “Students for Justice in Palestine” and the “Muslim Students Association.”
These two student groups are little more than a recruiting tool for the Muslim Brotherhood. They defend Hamas and advance its propaganda. Their popular slogan, chanted at campus protests against Israel, is “From the River to the Sea / Palestine Will Be Free.” Think about that. “From the River to the Sea / Palestine Will Be Free.” The river is the Jordan; the sea is the Mediterranean.
These activists are calling for a destruction of the Jewish state. They claim they are only anti-Israel, not anti-Semitic. But we know that’s a lie. As Pope Francis recently said, there is no distinction between anti-Israel and anti-Semitic.
These anti-Israel, anti-Semitic radicals are organized and they are relentless. But I have a bold new plan, with the help of the World Jewish Congress, to create a network of Jewish political organizations at key colleges and universities.
These student groups will be staffed by highly skilled young professionals, who will train Jewish students to be proud of their heritage, to be proud of Israel, and to expose the lies being told about Israel. And that’s not all. We’re also going to expose colleges and universities that give cover to professors who parrot the jihadists’ talking points. We are putting together a list of the worst offenders—the colleges most poisoned by anti-Israel sentiment. We will share this knowledge with the world.
We will mobilize alumni and donors who care about Israel to stand up and be heard. And, at state schools, we will demand that legislators withhold funding to schools that turn a blind eye to anti-Semitism within their gates. We will not be silent. We will hold them to account.
No college campus would allow racist or homophobic hate speech to go unanswered. So why the double standard when it comes to anti-Israel, anti-Semitic hate speech? The bottom line is this: Freedom of speech should not be abused to mean the freedom to be anti-Semitic.
Above all, as we fight to defend Israel at the UN and at colleges and universities across the globe, we must move forward on peace. We must remind the global community that the children of Israel want peace.
In July 2009, Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered a great speech about peace at Bar-Ilan University. The speech continues to inspire me to this day.
He said, and I quote: “We want to live with the Palestinians in peace, quiet, and good neighborly relations. We want our children and your children to ‘know war no more.’ We do not want parents and wives, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, to know the sorrow of bereavement. We want us and our neighbors to devote our efforts to ‘plowshares and pruning hooks,’ and not to ‘swords and spears.’” End quote.
I agree with the Prime Minister. I believe deep in my bones that peace is possible. In fact, I believe there has never been a better time for peace. Israel has a strong leader and a newly unified government.
I have spoken to many Arab leaders and they all tell me that they want peace, and they want it now. Indeed, the makings of a peace deal are clear to those who are willing to listen. So now is the time to focus. Now is the time to see it through.
And I hope that the next President of the United States is an active partner in these efforts.
Of course, as we pursue peace, we must be steadfast in our refusal to accept preconditions, or to do anything that would compromise Israel’s security. There’s no denying that great challenges lie ahead for Israel and, indeed, for Jews throughout the world.
From the UN, where anti-Semitism has reached a fever pitch … to college campuses, where our young people are told by BDS radicals that Israel is Goliath and the Palestinians are the noble David … to the imperative of pushing for peace.
So where do I find hope and confidence in our capacity to succeed and to rise to these challenges? Let me tell you.
When the Jews were attacked in the 1930s, we had no one to help us. We were alone. Today, we are not alone. Today, we have a proud and strong Israel.
We have proud and strong Jewish communities in 100 different countries. As President of the World Jewish Congress, I’ve witnessed first-hand the fortitude of world Jewry. I want to make you a promise.
In every place where the scourge of anti-Semitism festers, whether in the meeting rooms of the United Nations, or the student centers of colleges and universities, we stand ready to fight back. I give you my word: world Jewry is ready to fight. Ready to stand up to the anti-Semites. Ready to defend the Jewish homeland.
We will renew the promise that we make one generation to the next, in the words we have cried out in every chapter of our history: Am Yisrael chai.
Thank you, G-d bless you, and may G-d continue to bless the Jewish state of Israel.
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