President Barack Obama signed a proclamation today making Oct. 24 United Nations Day, but does that moniker then also make it anti-Israel day on Monday as well?
The United Nations, in principle, is an exemplary organization that brings countries with often opposing priorities into the same forum where they can advocate ending world hunger, global humanitarian assistance and international security.
Unfortunately, in practice, the UN has spiralled into an abyss of anti-Israel — and often anti-Semitic — drivel that transformed the organization into a moral relativist pulpit, which considers the votes of anti-democratic and human rights-violating countries as equivalent to freedom-loving nations.
The United Nations has repeatedly issued reports and held conferences that serve no purpose other than to defame and de-legitimize Israel. We have to go no further than the Goldstone report issued on Operation Cast Lead that chronicled for chapters supposed human rights violations committed by Israel against the Palestinians with only a passing reference to the terrorist activities orchestrated by Hamas and the Palestinians themselves, not to mention the oppressive freedom-stripping regimes imposed on the Palestinians by their own elected leaders, such as the Hamas government and even the Palestinian Authority.
Similarly, the United Nations Human Rights Council has condemned Israel over a dozen times in the last couple of years and previously launched an investigation into alleged Israeli human rights violations. Meanwhile, the group has been far less active investigating and condemning other countries with far more egregious human rights violations, such as, say, perhaps, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia, China and more countries in that ilk. The U.S. delegation has refused to participate on the Human Rights Council for that reason, but the Obama administration has reversed this long held position and will try and reform the council from within.
The UN has also held the World Conference Against Racism, known as the Durban Conference. In 2001, that conference, instead of focusing on global racism, lingered on a tiny section of the Middle East, a small plot of land known today as Israel. In 2009, the conference was held again and, while not as anti-Israel as in the past, still included disproportionate attacks on the Jewish state.
All of those examples do not even begin to account for the activities conducted by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which is a UN entity dedicated to aiding the Palestinians. This group has staff in Gaza and Lebanon, with facilities allegedly being used as safe havens for terrorists when Israel attacks, such as was the case during Operation Cast Lead.
There is no doubt that the UN has been disproportionately consumed by condemnation of Israel. While Israel has done questionable acts, and also occasionally violated human rights, the Jewish state should by no means be the biggest pariah on the world stage, and most certainly not at an organization supposedly dedicated to global peace and human rights.
The UN is most certainly not all bad and conducts some excellent work in support of its mission, but unfortunately those successes are often mired in biased rhetoric that does not address the real violators. The Obama administration is most certainly not anti-Israel and used this proclamation to affirm support for the good work that the UN occasionally does, but the organization’s inherent bias and misguided prioritization should not be forgotten.
Excerpts from the proclomation:
Sixty-five years ago, 51 nations came together in the aftermath of one of history’s most devastating wars to rededicate themselves to peace, justice, and progress. The founders of the United Nations vowed to work together to ensure that the horrors seen in World War II would never be repeated. On United Nations Day, we join our friends around the world in reflecting on our shared interests and renewing our commitment to international law, common security, accountability, and prosperity for all peoples.
The United Nations has made great advances since it first developed out of ruin and genocide, and, today, this partnership includes 192 member states. Throughout its journey to live up to its founding values, it has remained an indispensable vehicle for coordinated action to tackle global problems. In a time when we face challenges such as nuclear proliferation, climate change, transnational terrorism, food security risks, and pandemic disease, we must work as one to build the kind of world we want to see in the 21st century.
This vital international body provides a forum and framework for leaders to come together to advance our shared ideals. Through its broad range of peace operations, it helps limit and resolve conflicts that could otherwise threaten the security of individuals and the stability of nations. The United Nations’ humanitarian assistance lifts up countless lives, supporting nations in meeting the most immediate human needs and in building their own capabilities. Its history of rushing assistance to disaster victims was reflected this year in its response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti, which also claimed the lives of many United Nations officers. And, through its health, education, and development programs, the United Nations is helping empower the next generation of world leaders. Although difficulties remain, the dialogue fostered and actions taken by the United Nations will continue to strengthen the foundations of freedom across the globe.
Though the future we envision for all the world’s children may not come easily, the founding of the United Nations itself is a testament to human progress. Let us continue to be guided by its founders’ soaring example, and move through the conflicts and divisions of our time to a day when people from every part of this world can live together in peace.
