Posted on 06/24/2002 10:38:44 PM PDT by kattracks
UNITED NATIONS, Jun 24, 2002 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- American Jewish leaders met Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday and criticized the United Nations for not respecting Israel's right to self-defense against Palestinian suicide bombings. "Double standard is applied against Israel," said publisher Mortimer Zuckerman, chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations. "Israel is up against an unbelievable phenomenon that no other country has had to face in the form of this terrorist attack."
At the meeting, he said, "The secretary-general did repeat to us how he believes terrorism to be morally repugnant, but the other half of it is to allow Israel, as all other democratic states, the right to its own self-defense."
Annan requested the meeting with the Jewish leaders. Shortly after they left, his spokesman issued a statement expressing Annan's concern at Israel's reoccupation of six Palestinian-controlled towns in the West Bank and strongly deploring the killings of four Palestinian civilians in Jenin on Friday and the "extra-judicial killing" of six Palestinians in Gaza on Monday.
The Jewish leaders, representing the conference's 54 member organizations, criticized what they claimed were unjustified attacks on Israel for going after suicide bombers in the Jenin refugee camp in early April.
Contrary to Palestinian claims of a massacre in the camp, Zuckerman said Israel acted "in the most humanitarian way, trying to minimize civilian casualties."
Malcolm Hoenlein, the conference's executive vice chairman, said the presidents submitted a 150-page report to the secretary-general several weeks ago with more than 50 eyewitness accounts of what happened in Jenin.
Annan was asked to prepare a report on the events in Jenin for the General Assembly after Israel refused to allow a U.N. fact-finding mission to look into what happened - after initially agreeing and saying it had "nothing to hide."
"There were less than 60 dead of whom 90 percent were terrorists as opposed to the thousands that were initially accused," Hoenlein said, stressing that Jewish leaders want to see Annan's report "reflect the reality."
Israel "pays a price in the international community" when events like Jenin are "completely blown out of proportion," he said, citing anti-Semitic attacks against Israel at last year's U.N. conference on racism in Durban, South Africa, and anti-Israel resolutions adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Commission.
"It is a hope that the U.N. will bring a level of justice and fairness to resolutions, political disputes in the world," Zuckerman said.
Both sides called the meeting constructive.
Annan emphasized the need for the Israelis and Palestinians to return to negotiations and his own efforts to combat growing anti-Semitism, a U.N. statement said.
"We understand the limitations under which he operates, but believe that the integrity of the U.N. hangs in the balance," Hoenlein said. "We want to see it play a constructive role in bringing peace to the Middle East and peace to the world, but we believe that is being undermined when the institutions of the U.N. work against those ends."
By EDITH M. LEDERER Associated Press Writer
Copyright 2002 Associated Press, All rights reserved
The words "integrity" and "UN" do not belong in the same sentence.
Thanks for the post.
Annan also urged Israelis and Palestinians "to muster the courage and political will to make it possible within three years to replace the Israeli occupation of 1967 ...
and
...Annan was "very disturbed" that Israel had moved its army back into West Bank cities, saying such actions "significantly increase tensions in a volatile situation."
When ARE those troublesome Jews going to stop causing problems with their peaceful neighbors and give back what they stole for no good reason? (/SARCASM)
A Democratic shilling, card carrying memeber of the liberal establishment who, unless Israeli interests are threatened, can't bring himself to support the use of military force.
Serbia faced the same "phenomenon" and Jewish American organisations denied Serbia right to defend herself against Albanian terrorism. Furthermore, NJCRAC applauded bombing and ocupation of Serbia and remained silent on mass murder and expulsion of Serbs afterwards.
"The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) welcomes the agreement approved by the United Nations Security Council, which calls for the removal of Serbian forces from Kosovo and the safe return of ethnic Albanian refugees to their homes.
We applaud the NATO alliance for standing up against the policy of "ethnic cleansing" perpetrated by Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milocevic and urge Russia to play a constructive role in the post-war period.
The JCPA appeals to the international community to undertake the massive effort that will be needed to reconstruct the communities and lives of the more than one million Kosovar refugees.
In addition, we call on NATO to pursue the arrest and prosecution of those Serb political and military leaders, particularly Slobodan Milocevic, who are indicted by the international war crimes tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.
source: Jewish Council for public Affairs, JCPA Board of Directors
Kosovo set the precedent for Israel and NCRAC ('nacrac')helped tremendously. Inocent Israelis are now paying the price for lunacy of official policy of American Jewish organisations to support radical islamism through media, political channels and direct financial support.
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