RUTHFULLY YOURS

As Americans went to the polls today and voted for their respective candidates, the United Nations General Assembly did what it does best and voted on 10 anti-Israeli resolutions, condemning the Jewish State for various contrived transgressions. Only three resolutions dealt with the rest of the world giving some sense of the General Assembly’s obsession with Israel.

Two of today’s resolutions denied the incontrovertible Jewish nexus to Jerusalem, adopting verbatim anti-Semitic language employed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in resolutions passed that body earlier this year. The Temple Mount, site of the first and second Jewish temples, was referred to exclusively by its Arabic name – the Haram-al-Sharif.

Another resolution obscenely called for the immediate return of the Golan Heights, liberated by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War, to Syria and referred to it as “occupied territory.” While Assad and his allies are busy dropping unguided barrel bombs, cluster munitions, white phosphorus and thermobaric bombs on Syrian civilians, the General Assembly saw fit to prioritize the return of the rocky plateau to Syria. That gives us a good sense of how irreversibly corrupted and dishonest the UN General Assembly truly is.

The remaining resolutions dealt with bogus Israeli transgressions against the “Palestinians” in one form or another. One of the resolutions dealt with extending the mandate of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to June 2020.

The UNRWA was established in 1949 specifically to deal with Arabs displaced as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israel war. But it is an anomaly of sorts. While other refugees the world over fall under the jurisdiction of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the “Palestinians” are accorded their own special UN body. Moreover, “Palestinian” refugees can retain their refugee status even in they acquire citizenship in another country and their refugee status can be passed down to successive generations.

On numerous occasions, UNRWA employees have been caught facilitating terrorist actions or aiding and abetting terrorist members. UNRWA teachers have been caught glorifying terrorism and spreading anti-Semitic, xenophobic views. Despite this, the West continues to pour billions of Dollars and Euros into the organization. The establishment and continued funding of the UNRWA virtually ensures perpetuation of conflict.

Today’s lopsided anti-Israel vote at the UN demonstrates with utmost clarity why the UN should not be involved in any way, shape or form in formulating Mideast policy or solutions with respect to the Arab-Israeli dispute. The Muslim bloc, when joined with their despotic allies like Venezuela and Cuba, wield considerable influence at the UN. Unprincipled Western nations like France, guided by a potent combination of fear of retaliation and petro dollars often join the pile-on.

But despite overwhelming odds, Israel does manage to score some political victories from time to time, a testament to its successful diplomatic outreach. On October 13, UNESCO, with the backing of the Muslim bloc passed a rabidly anti-Israel resolution that denied historic Jewish bonds to Jerusalem but Israel succeeded in preventing the Muslim bloc from securing a majority at the 58-member body. Moreover, not a single Western European government backed the resolution. Following the vote, Mexico and Brazil said that they would no longer vote in favor of similar resolutions and Italy said that it would actively oppose such resolutions.

That same month, Israel scored another moral victory at UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee where the 21-member body was slated to pass an anti-Israel resolution by consensus. Surprisingly, Croatia and Tanzania requested a secret ballot thwarting Muslim efforts to have the resolution pass by consensus. While the resolution ultimately passed, only 10 members voted in favor. The rest either voted against or abstained. One member was absent. The Muslim bloc scored a victory but it was a Pyrrhic one at best.

The Palestinian Authority has been pushing full throttle to gain statehood recognition and entry into international bodies. Their strategy is to reap political benefits while circumventing direct talks with Israel thereby dispensing with the need to concede anything while obtaining as much reward as possible. This unilateral, bad faith approach demonstrates just how disingenuous and malevolent the Palestinian Authority is.

In keeping in line with its strategy, the Palestinian Authority requested to join the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). The irony of a terrorist entity that has zero respect for human rights requesting to join a law enforcement body is both absurd and laughable. Israel lobbied heavily in opposition and its efforts paid off.

“The General Assembly of the Interpol has rejected the Palestinians request to discuss and vote on their request to be accepted as a member state,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry and its Police Spokesperson said in a joint statement. The victory at Interpol demonstrates that while Israel’s battle is an uphill one, it is not insurmountable.