The UN and Israel, a Record of Systematic Abuse

November 9, 2015

by: Rev. Cheryl Hauer, Associate Editor

It is no secret that the United Nations seems to harbor an irrational dislike for the nation of Israel. Since the inception of the State in 1948, no other international body has vilified the Jewish nation as vehemently, or as often, as the UN. And therein lies the irony. Were it not for that august body, it could be said that there would be no State of Israel, since the UN laid the essential groundwork for its establishment in 1947. This year, the UN celebrates its 70th anniversary. Regrettably during those seven decades, it has provided a forum for nearly every anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist country on earth to delegitimize the world’s only Jewish state.

Unfortunately, the United Nations as a whole is overwhelmingly controlled by non-democratic states. Arab members continually use the General Assembly (GA) as a forum for isolating and chastising Israel, with little difficulty passing harsh anti-Israel resolutions. Even today, the strength of these groups in the world body allows them to continue in their campaign to delegitimize and eventually do away with the State of Israel. In the first 40 years of Israel’s existence, there were over 300 General Assembly resolutions against her. The year 2012 alone saw 22 GA resolutions specifically against Israel with only four for the rest of the world combined.

While anti-Israel resolutions are easily passed in the GA, this is not the case in the Security Council, where resolutions are binding in nature. This is where the real power of the UN lies. Israel is the only member state that has not—and cannot—serve on the Security Council. There have been 77 resolutions brought by the Security Council against the Jewish state; no other nation on earth comes even close to such a record. In the same period of time, there was only one resolution against the Palestinians.

Unequal Dealings at the UNHRC

The UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) was established in 2006 to promote universal respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind and in a fair and equal manner. Its mission was supposed to be applicable to all 192 countries in the world.

Instead, the UNHRC has disproportionately concentrated its resources on only one country, the alleged violations of human rights committed by the State of Israel.

Israel has been condemned in over 45 of UNHRC general resolutions, more than the other 192 countries combined. Israel was also condemned in 46 percent of resolutions devoted to specific countries; of the 12 emergency “special sessions” in 2006–2009 relating to specific country situations, six were on Israel. All these resolutions were initiated by Arab states.

Israel is the only nation in the world that has a standing agenda item against it at every session of the UNHRC.

UN, a Hotbed of Anti-Israel Rhetoric

At a meeting of the General Assembly, world leaders gathered recently to acknowledge the 70^th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. Presidents and prime ministers from across the globe praised the accomplishments of the UN while asserting their own political and national ambitions. President Vladimir Putin encouraged the world to join him in supporting Bashar al-Assad, the murderous leader of Syria, as Russia establishes a huge military presence in that country.  Strengthening ties with Iran while continuing to support Hezbollah, Putin made it clear that Israeli security worries are no concern of his.

Iranian President Rouhani was blunt with his anti-Israel rhetoric, accusing Israel of oppressing Palestinians and lashing out at the “Zionist regime” as the impediment to securing the Iranian nuclear agreement. Although Israel was conspicuous by its absence in the speech made by America’s Barack Obama, his intentions to disregard Israel’s security concerns were more than apparent. As the Palestinian flag fluttered next to that of the Holy See outside the UN headquarters, the Pope decried nuclear weapons while in the same breath, praising the Iranian nuclear agreement. Both stances are clearly antithetical to Israel’s safety.

As was expected, Mahmoud Abbas spewed Israel hatred as he attempted to heap guilt on the member states for allowing the purported “occupation” to continue. Accusing Israel of killing children and infants, destroying places of worship and burning Palestinian crops, he attempted to position the Palestinian National Authority as a stable government working to achieve a peaceful end to the conflict. This is the same Abbas who, days later, would repeatedly incite his people to violence that resulted in stabbings, vehicular homicide and shootings that took the lives of Jewish men, women and children across the State of Israel.

Israel Stands Alone at the UN

Benjamin Netanyahu was the lone voice of opposition to the nuclear agreement, clearly defining the result of lifted Iranian sanctions and the freedom for them to acquire nuclear weapons capability. With courage and clarity, Netanyahu confronted the issues facing Israel and the Middle East. Calling out member states for slandering Israel and encouraging Palestinian rejectionism, he declared Israel’s commitment to peace, justice and tolerance. And in a sea of hostility, he reminded his listeners that a secure Israel is not just important for Israelis:

So here’s a novel idea for the United Nations: Instead of continuing the shameful routine of bashing Israel, stand with Israel. Stand with Israel as we check fanaticism at our door. Stand with Israel as we prevent that fanaticism from reaching your door. Stand with Israel because Israel is not just defending itself. More than ever, Israel is defending you.

Less than a month later, implementation of the Iranian nuclear agreement moved forward; UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon visited Jerusalem and chastised Israel for being an impediment to peace; and UNESCO declared Rachel’s Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs—both ancient Jewish religious sites with importance to Christianity—to be part of the non-existent state of Palestine, deeming them Muslim holy sites.

Prime Minister Netanyahu’s warnings have seemingly fallen on deaf ears. The UN is determinedly pursuing a course of hatred against Israel; the nation that God says is the apple of His eye. Tragically, the entire world may well have to pay the price of such actions.