The UN and Israel - Is the Jewish state getting a fair shake from the world body?
The U.N. and the Middle East - Is it a proper forum to sit in judgment?
Posted on 04/22/2003 11:38:52 AM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights, due to wrap up its 59th session this week in Geneva, produced no surprises for Israel, only hostility and the annual condemnatory resolutions, a senior Israeli diplomat said on Tuesday.
The annual six-week session, which began on March 17 and is due to end on April 25, was overshadowed this year by the war in Iraq, which began just two days after the session convened.
Syria proposed that a special session be held to discuss "U.S. war crimes" in Iraq, but the Arab and Muslim bloc, which usually receives majority support in the 53-member body, was unable to muster enough votes for the discussion.
According to Yaakov Levy, Israel's ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva, the focus on Iraq didn't prevent Arab and Muslim states from "ganging up on Israel."
"Generally speaking it was the same as last year," Levy said, describing the atmosphere at the annual event as one of "hostility" toward Israel.
Israel has long complained that the commission is prejudiced against it. As many as one-third of all the resolutions produced by the UNCHR - which chose Libya to chair the committee for a year starting in January - are condemnations of the tiny Jewish state.
There were five resolutions passed against Israel during this session, Levy said in a telephone interview.
One "new element" was that the annual resolution against Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip was this time introduced by the Europeans. The resolution also contained a reference to a fence Israel is building in an attempt to prevent terrorists from easily passing from the West Bank into Israel.
While two of the resolutions were passed nearly unanimously with the U.S. as the main dissenting vote, two others were passed with some 20 members each abstaining from the vote, which Levy saw as a positive element.
Levy introduced four new elements to the commission during this year's session, which were noted for the record but would not be put forth as resolutions.
Israel, an observer to the commission, can never join the human rights body or table a resolution because until several years ago it was the only nation in the world that was not allowed to join a regional grouping, something that is necessary for membership in the Security Council or important U.N. bodies.
Arab and Muslim hostility blocked Israel's entrance into the natural African or Asian groupings, but persistent U.S. intervention succeeded in getting Israel conditional acceptance into the Western European and Others Group. This opened the door for membership in New York-based bodies but in those bodies based elsewhere.
Levy mentioned the plight of Israeli MIA's, three of whom have been missing since 1982 and one since 1986. None of the MIAs has had contact with their families, nor have they been allowed visits from the Red Cross.
Levy also challenged Syria on the occupation of Lebanon by some 20,000 Syrian troops.
Levy asked the Syrians why they have not recognized Lebanon and called on them to produce evidence that the two countries had exchanged ambassadors between them.
Syrian troops entered Lebanon in 1976, ostensibly to restore order to the country deep in civil war. Syria's presence there was legitimized by the Arab League a year later but a 1982 U.N. resolution called for the removal of "all non-Lebanese forces from Lebanon."
The late Syrian President Hafez Assad never recognized the sovereignty of Lebanon because he considered it part of Greater Syria.
Levy also read out a list of 10 major terror organizations headquartered in Damascus, some of which have been blacklisted by both the U.S. and European Union, he said.
Syria responded by saying that the centers of terror organizations were public relations offices - a response Damascus previously used when it rejected a direct request from Washington to close the offices last year.
Levy countered by presenting a list of terror attacks carried out by some of the groups dating back to 1972.
In addition to the resolutions against Israel, Levy complained that the Libyan chairperson of the commission allowed outbursts against Israel, which would never be tolerated against any other member of the U.N.
The outbursts included a call by the Palestinian observer for the elimination of Zionism and "an end to the racist-Zionist movement."
Zionism is the Jewish national movement, which established the State of Israel.
The UN and Israel - Is the Jewish state getting a fair shake from the world body?
The U.N. and the Middle East - Is it a proper forum to sit in judgment?
We quit. Get the h*** off our land.
Love and kisses,
The United States and Israel
Kofi bears the responsibility for the UN's complicity in slaughther and genocide in Africa. When can we expect to see an indictment in an international court? And when can we expect to see this criminal organization barred from American soil?
The UN should be indicted under RICO laws pertaining to an ongoing CRIMINAL organization.
Say it again, and louder.
I respectfully disagree.
RICO, IMO, is bad law - vaguely worded enough to be subject to abuse, and used well beyond its intended purpose, such as to harrass pro-life groups. If there are grounds to indict the UN, go for it with my full support, but a bad law used to attain a good result is still a bad law.
P.S. I'm not trying to give you grief, just suggesting that the means is inappropriate.
Actually I agree with you. This law has been abused to the hilt. I'd really rather use a MOAB on the UN.
Europe kicked the Jews out 60 years ago -- almost slaughtering them and stealing their wealth and property -- and yet they continue to try to kill Jews thousands of miles away from Europe.
Actually I agree with you. This law has been abused to the hilt. I'd really rather use a MOAB on the UN.
Ah, now we're on firm moral ground. ;-)
It's called ANTISEMITISM and if want to know if it still exists ask the Jews living in Europe(especially France)
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