UN, Israel & Anti-Semitism

CDNBear

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An alien observing the United Nations' debates, reading its resolutions, and walking its halls could well conclude that a principal purpose of the world body is to censure a tiny country called Israel.



http://www.unwatch.org/atf/cf/{6DEB...4D17}/Graphic--UN, Israel & Anti-Semitism.gif
1949: Israel admitted into the UN




Beginning in the late 1960's, the full weight of the UN was gradually but deliberately turned against the country it had conceived by General Assembly resolution a mere two decades earlier. The campaign to demonize and delegitimize Israel in every UN and international forum was initiated by the Arab states together with the Soviet Union, and supported by what has become known as an "automatic majority" of Third World member states.
The campaign reached new strength in wake of the Arab oil embargo of 1973, when many African states were pressured into severing relations with Israel. In 1975, following a steady drumbeat of anti-Israel declarations pushed through the International Women's Year Conference in Mexico and then the Organization of African Unity, the majority of the General Assembly adopted the "Zionism is Racism" resolution. At the same time, it instituted a series of related measures that together installed an infrastructure of anti-Israel propaganda throughout the UN. Years later, after strenuous efforts by democratic forces, the infamous resolution was repealed.
Legacy of 1975: Anti-Israel Infrastructure Remains
However, the legacy of 1975 remains fully intact: UN committees, annual UN resolutions, an entire UN bureaucratic division, permanent UN exhibits in New York and Geneva headquarters -- all dedicated to a relentless and virulent propaganda war against the Jewish state. Together, they have made the UN into Ground

Zero for today's new anti-Semitism, which is the irrational scapegoating of Israel with the true intended target being Jews. Not only do these anti-Israel measures incite hatred against Israelis and Jews everywhere, but they have done not a thing to help the Palestinian situation. On the contrary: they give strength and succor to extremists.
Paradoxically, one of the greatest violators of the UN Charter's equality guarantee has been the UN body charged with establishing and enforcing international human rights, the Commission on Human Rights. (For more on the Commission's bias, click here.)
Anti-Israel Bias in the UN System

The UN's discrimination against Israel is not a minor infraction, nor a parochial nuisance of interest solely to those concerned with equal rights of the Jewish people and the Jewish state. Instead, the world body's obsession with censuring Israel at every turn directly affects all citizens of the world, for it constitutes (a) a severe violation of the equality principles guaranteed by the UN Charter and underlying the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and (b) a significant obstacle to the UN's ability to carry out its proper mandate.
None of this means Israel should be above the law. Every country, including every democracy, commits human rights violations, and states should be held to account accordingly, both domestically and internationally. Yet Israel does have the right to be treated equally under the law. The UN Charter and the rules of natural justice demand no less. It is legitimate for UN bodies to criticize Israel, but not when they do do so unfairly, selectively, massively, sometimes exclusively, and always obsessively.
Likewise, it is perfectly legitimate to call attention to the rights of the Palestinian people and their often difficult conditions. But it is something else entirely to abuse their cause for the sole objective of scapegoating Israel and the Jewish people.




1975: Israeli Ambassador Chaim Herzog tearing the "Zionism equals Racism" resolution.




General Assembly Ignored Sudan, But Condemned Israel 19 Times
The countless anti-Israel resolutions and related debates consume an astonishing proportion of the UN community's precious resources. In 2004-2005, during the 59th Session of the General Assembly, the time spent by ambassadors on enacting the nineteenth anti-Israel resolution of the year was time not spent on passing a single resolution on Sudan's genocide in Darfur. Diplomats at foreign ministries or UN missions have a limited amount of time to devote to any particular UN session. Because every proposed UN resolution is subjected to intensive review by various levels and branches of government, a direct result of the anti-Israel texts is a crippling of the UN's ability to tackle the world's ills.
UN bias against Israel is overt in bodies such as the General Assembly, which each year passes some nineteen resolutions against Israel and none against most other member states, including the world's most repressive regimes. The World Health Organization, meeting at its annual assembly in Geneva in 2005, passed but one resolution against a specific country: Israel was charged with violating Palestinian rights to health. Similarly, the International Labour Organization, at its annual 2005 conference in Geneva, carried only one major country-specific report on its annual agenda -- a lengthy document charging Israel with violating the rights of Palestinian workers.
In the summer of 2004, the UN's International Court of Justice at The Hague issued an advisory opinion that followed the script of a political campaign orchestrated by the PLO representative at the UN, Nasser al-Kidwa. The busiest corridor of the Palais des Nations, the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva, displays no less than ten larger-than-life panels devoted to the Palestinian cause. The clear message, that the Palestinians are the world's greatest human rights victim; the clear implication, that Israel is the world's greatest human rights abuser.
There are three special UN entities dedicated to the Palestinian cause. The oldest is the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, created in 1968. In 1975, the General Assembly added the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. Supporting its work is the Division for Palestinian Rights. Lodged within the UN Secretariat, the Division boasts a sixteen-member staff and a budget of millions, which it devotes to the constant promotion of anti-Israel propaganda throughout the world.
Although Secretary-General Kofi Annan has made important pronouncements against anti-Semitism, and even -- before a Jerusalem audience -- against some aspects of the UN's anti-Israel bias, his regular statements on the Arab-Israeli conflict are disproportionately critical of Israel. Senior aide Lakhdar Brahimi publicly described Israel as a country whose policy constitutes "the great poison in the region."
Time to Take Action to End Bias and Injustice at the UN
The anti-Israel apparatus within the UN, therefore, is of considerable magnitude, and cripples the functioning of the organization. The overt bias practiced against one state undermines the UN's credibility and integrity. Anyone who truly cares about the UN must take action to end this gross injustice and criminal distraction from world pandemics such as disease and poverty. Given the current period of UN reform, now is the time. Many more UN officials, member states, NGOs, and others need to speak out and actively oppose this longstanding inequality.
http://www.unwatch.org/site/c.bdKKISNqEmG/b.1359197/k.6748/UN_Israel__AntiSemitism.htm
From Un watch.
 

tracy

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I think there are certainly anti-semitic countries out there, but I don't think the UN is anti-semitic. Censuring Israel for the things they do sometimes is just common sense. I believe 100% in Israel's right to exist, but I don't have trouble seeing why they get censured at times. Pointing out that Sudan doesn't get in as much trouble seems childish to me. My brother used to try that when he got into trouble with my parents ("well Tracy did this..."). It doesn't change the fact that he did something wrong.
 

CDNBear

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True enough, but when we are dealing with a Global Governing body, the inference of bias is a serious issue.
 

tracy

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True enough, but when we are dealing with a Global Governing body, the inference of bias is a serious issue.

Maybe. I guess I'd be more sympathetic if they actually could defend their actions rather than just cry "BIAS!!!". Maybe the UN should pay more attention to other countries that commit illegal acts, but that doesn't make some of Israel's acts less illegal.
 

Curiosity

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Since the U.N. created the State of Israel - they should see to the job of peace in that region no?

I have also addressed this situation in a post one floor up... 1948 Arab-Israeli War
 

CDNBear

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Maybe. I guess I'd be more sympathetic if they actually could defend their actions rather than just cry "BIAS!!!". Maybe the UN should pay more attention to other countries that commit illegal acts, but that doesn't make some of Israel's acts less illegal.

I have no problem with anyone addressing Israel's criminal acts if that is what all the codemnation entails. But it is more of a lopsided issue. Just look at who headed the Human Rights Tibunal. Look at what is not addressed, the Hezbollah has not been disbanded or dissarmed. So why is it that Israel is continuously hounded, and they are not.

Since the U.N. created the State of Israel - they should see to the job of peace in that region no?

Absolutely WC, they should and they should do it without bias. Both sides are guilty in some way shape or form. I level that even the UN is complicit in this continued tragic comedy of errors.
 

tracy

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I have no problem with anyone addressing Israel's criminal acts if that is what all the codemnation entails. But it is more of a lopsided issue. Just look at who headed the Human Rights Tibunal. Look at what is not addressed, the Hezbollah has not been disbanded or dissarmed. So why is it that Israel is continuously hounded, and they are not.
.

I agree that's a problem. I just see it as a separate problem.
 

gopher

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Maybe the UN should pay more attention to other countries that commit illegal acts, but that doesn't make some of Israel's acts less illegal.


Exactly. The rule of law must be applied on a uniform basis. If it had been much of the alleged "bias" would not exist.
 

CDNBear

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Absolutely gopher, which is all I have been saying ALL ALONG.

Until the bias is removed I will stand by Israel.

When the bias is exsponged, I will re-assess my position and act accordingly. Until then...
 

Logic 7

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Absolutely gopher, which is all I have been saying ALL ALONG.

Until the bias is removed I will stand by Israel.

When the bias is exsponged, I will re-assess my position and act accordingly. Until then...


<snip> they have violated more than 60 resolutions, and none of those resolution was respected, when guys like you were screaming, because evil saddam violated 14 resolutions, and the need for the war.
Israel have the strongest lobbyiest in the world, still you think there is bias to be removed, <snip>

In fact , there is bias towards palestinians, they have no human rights, the way they live, is something we havent seen since the great wars, still western leaders try to make us think it is their fault, i guess the fact that palestinians doesnt have rich lobbyiest doesnt help their situations.
 
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Curiosity

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U.N. Resolutions only cover half the problem - that is why the United Nations are a dangerous group to be called up in missions of peace and democracy

http://www.techcentralstation.com/022805A.html

Excerpt from article

The Palestinian terrorists, in short, are past masters at breaking eggs. But, unlike the Algerian revolutionaries, they appear to have forgotten that the whole point of breaking eggs was to make an omelet. They have become obsessed with breaking eggs only for the pleasure they seem to get from smashing delicate things.

Those who support the endless smashing of bodies for the mere sake of smashing bodies are not standing on the right side of history. They are in league with forces of anti-civilization. They are cheering on those who no longer remember how to create and construct, and indeed who no longer see any purpose in creating or constructing.


And a comment from a blogger on the article:
There certainly are a great many Palestinians desiring nothing more than peace, independence, freedom and democracy - and this is the whole underpinning of Bush's foreign policy I might add. But the Palestinian terrorists do not fall into this category any more than Hitler, Goebbels and Goerring would have in their time. When college students play down the demands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad and PFLP and the rest they play a game of intellectual dishonesty. These groups want to kill Jews and obliterate the infidels. They do not seek peaceful resolution. We should not proceed as though they could pursue their goals peacefully. For these groups, violence is the end, not the means.

There's much more to the article and it's all quite interesting. What I personally find intriguing - and more than a little humorous - is the way pampered, white, Protestant American students like to attach themselves to the Palestinian cause to prove to themselves their own credibility as quasi-revolutionaries. I could go into depth on the subject, but they're so irrelevant socially and politically it seems like a colossal waste of my time and yours. Suffice to say: they carry the torch for Palestine to try and prove to others and themselves that they are radical and principled. The whole movement is silly; a caricature of itself.
Posted by neolibertarian on March 2, 2005 at 6:21pm
 
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BitWhys

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To posit that speaking out against the aggressive state-level zionism that constitutes the current occupation, control and abuse of palestinian lands is anti-semetic may be an effective rhetorical tool but does not reflect current realities.
 

#juan

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The list of human rights abuses, destruction of homes, and mass murder by Israel is ponderous, but whenever anyone writes a complaining resolution to the UN, up pops the U.S. with a veto. Israel should have been severely sanctioned years ago.
 

Curiosity

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To posit that speaking out against the aggressive state-level zionism that constitutes the current occupation, control and abuse of palestinian lands is anti-semetic may be an effective rhetorical tool but does not reflect current realities.

So Bit what do you suggest the U.N. do?

That is if they are prepared to "do" anythng.
 

BitWhys

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I wasn't talking about the UN. I was talking about the indiscriminate use of the "anti-semetic" card.
 

Curiosity

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Bit - The U.N. is the only body which can put an end to the stranglehold....and what do you believe the "current realities to be" ?

Here is the opening few paragraphs of the article I linked earlier.... it is interesting for I have not read this kind of "take" on the situation before - but it was written in 2005 - so perhaps is outdated....

The Peculiar Institution: Understanding Why Palestinian Terror Is Different
By Lee Harris : BIO| 28 Feb 2005
1. THE PALESTINIANS' MOMENT OF TRUTH
The Palestinian people stand at a critical moment in their history. They can rally behind the efforts of their new leader, Mahmoud Abbas, to bring an end to the Palestinian tradition of terror, or they can continue to give their support to those who are pursuing a fatal and futile fantasy -- a fantasy that has cost the lives of thousands of innocent men, women, and children, both Israelis and Palestinians.

The fantasy in question is the fantasy that one day the so called "Zionist occupation" will end. And the reason it is a fantasy can be easily detected in the phrase "the Zionist occupation."

The state of Israel has long since ceased to be a Zionist project. Like it or not, Israel is a historical fait accompli, a state as real and genuine as any that has ever existed in history. If the Israeli people could have been run out of the area, they would have left long ago. Those who are there are seriously there. They aren't leaving in the future. That is why the Palestinian people have only one realistic choice before them: they must work in every way possible to eliminate the terror virus that was permitted to spread among them under the leadership of Yasser Arafat, especially now when the Palestinians at long last appear to have a leader who is trying to bring an end to Palestine's reign of terror.

Terrorism is a Palestinian tradition that must end. But in order to bring about this desperately needed change, not only must the Palestinian people cease to show sympathy with their indigenous terrorist organizations, so too must Westerners, both in Europe and in the United States. Sympathy with the Palestinian people is in order, but not sympathy for the institution that has held them back from all progress toward a genuinely responsible civic polity.

For that is what terrorism has become among the Palestinians -- it is their peculiar institution, the way slavery was the peculiar institution of the American South in the nineteenth century. For, like the slave system, terrorism, deployed as a means of achieving political goals, ends by poisoning the society that permits it to flourish in its midst. The only group that draws any advantage from its use are those who are ruthless enough to use it. Like slavery, it corrupts whatever it touches, and is of value only to those who live off it. Like slavery, it appears to be an institution that can only be destroyed by those who are willing to use extreme and drastic measures to eradicate it. And, lastly, like American slavery, Palestinian terrorism has its defenders, many of them decent and well-intentioned individuals. In what follows I will try to explain why these individuals are mistaken in extending their sympathy to organizations like Hamas and other "militant" Palestinian groups.
 

BitWhys

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CDNBear

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I wasn't talking about the UN. I was talking about the indiscriminate use of the "anti-semetic" card.
You will note that I have used that term myself, but once or twice. Like terms such as nazi and such. I am well versed in what they mean, unlike those that throw them around willy nilly. I chose to use them wisely, as not to negate the true meaning there of.

Do I believe the UN is anti semetic? No. Do I beleive they pander to inteterst groups in an effort to deflect for the error they see may have been committed when Israel was created? Yes.

My pfoof is... Who lead the human right tribunal?
 

CDNBear

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gopher, I have a question for you.

Not that I think you'll answer it, but wtf, why not.

Do you think your beloved Democrats will remove support for Israel if they take the White House?
 

gopher

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I am not a Democrat. What gave you the impression I belong to that party?

No, the Dems will not remove support for Israel because Howard Dean and Joseph Lieberman are both ardent supporters of that government.