UN-surprising

Israel’s relationship with the United Nations has been turbulent to say the least.  In 1947 the UN General Assembly (GA) passed resolution 181 dividing what had been the British mandate of Palestine into a Jewish state and an Arab state. At that point the new international body was a hero for the Jewish people, granting international legitimacy to the notion of a Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael.

However, the GA is entirely a reflection of its members – the nations of the world.  If in 1947 those countries were well-disposed towards Zionist aspirations, it did not set a precedent. The Soviet Union, which was the first country to voice support for the partition plan, would, within a decade of that vote, have thrown its support behind the Arab states committed to Israel’s destruction.  Before long, the Soviet bloc and the Arab and Muslim world could command an automatic anti-Israel majority in the GA.  The nadir was reached in 1975 when resolution 3379 was passed, equating Zionism with racism.  Although the resolution was rescinded in 1991 (against the backdrop of the USSR’s collapse and an Arab world courting American approval) it would serve as a warning of what was to follow. In the years since, Israel has been subjected to more condemnatory GA resolutions than any other country; while there has never been a single GA resolution condemning any act of violence or aggression by any Arab state or terror organization against Israel.

It is hardly surprising then that Israelis tend to regard the UN with suspicion. This past week, with the annual opening of the GA, three speeches in particular commanded the attention of people here. First was President Obama’s.  That he devoted more time to the Israeli-Arab conflict than any other single issue may not have pleased some Israelis, it was consistent with his promise to focus on it as a priority in his first term. He repeated his demand that the Palestinians end incitement against Israel and his opposition to Israeli settlement building and declared the following aim:

“Two states living side by side in peace and security – a Jewish state of Israel, with true security for all Israelis; and a viable, independent Palestinian state with contiguous territory…”

I have written previously of the need for the Palestinians to accept Israel’s right to exist as the state of the Jewish people.  Obama’s - no doubt very deliberate - choice of wording was an important development.

The second speech of particular interest to Israelis was that of Iran’s President. The content featured the usual assurances of his regime’s peace-loving nature alongside accusations of Israeli “genocide” against the Palestinians. This was less important however than the fact that he was allowed to speak at all.  Just a few days before his speech, he addressed a crowd in Teheran, referring to the Holocaust as “an unprovable mythical lie”.

The UN could have reasserted much of its diminished moral credibility by banning this serial Holocaust denier from the UN. It didn’t.

The final speech I wish to mention is that of Binyamin Netanyahu. I have written critically of him before – and will likely do so again – but  this was a tour de force of a speech, with the most important section coming at the beginning with a powerful denunciation of Ahmadinejad and some well-chosen words on the reactions of UN member states to the Iranian leader’s presence:

“Yesterday, the man who calls the Holocaust a lie spoke from this podium. To those who refused to come here and to those who left this room in protest, I commend you. You stood up for moral clarity and you brought honor to your countries.

"But to those who gave this Holocaust-denier a hearing, I say on behalf of my people, the Jewish people, and decent people everywhere: Have you no shame?  Have you no decency? “

No Bibi, they haven’t.

An edited version of this was published in The Jewish News on 2/10/2009.