New York – World Jewish Congress President Ronald S. Lauder voices a growing concern over the continued politicization of United Nations bodies in the aftermath of the UN General Assembly’s adoption of six anti-Israel resolutions on Friday.
Next week, the body will vote on a resolution backed by the United States delegation and European allies demanding, “that Hamas and other militant actors including Palestinian Islamic Jihad cease activity, including by using airborne incendiary devices.” The resolution will seek to censure the organization for “repeatedly firing rockets into Israel and inciting violence.”
“Just three weeks ago, Hamas launched a barrage of more than 400 missiles at municipalities across southern Israel wreaking havoc and causing Israeli citizens – both Jewish and Arab – to seek refuge in bomb shelters for days on end. This situation is clearly untenable and needs to be addressed firmly by the international community,” said Lauder.
Lauder pointed out the hypocrisy of the votes, adding, “each year, UN bodies pass more than twenty resolutions targeting the Jewish State, including resolutions that extend the mandates of official UN agencies that have been established with the sole purpose of promoting the Palestinian agenda. No other entity is treated in this way.
“It is unconscionable that such an esteemed body that was born out of the horrors of the Holocaust continues, in unrelenting fashion, to entertain resolutions that seem to have been authored by individuals without a firm grasp of reality.
“The World Jewish Congress thanks the United States’ administration and its permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Nikki Haley, for their continued efforts to call out the ingrained biases that all too often result in lopsided resolutions targeting the world’s only Jewish State, Israel. We look forward to next week’s vote on a resolution that will serve as a small but necessary step toward leveling the playing field.
“The resolution put forth by the US is not an attack on the Palestinian people, as some have said. Rather, it is intended to address extreme elements within Palestinian society and the repressive Hamas leadership who continue to target and terrorize Israeli civilians with indiscriminate rocket fire.”
Un general assembly hall
