Israel Matzav

While the Arab world burns... the UN holds a conference on Israel

In the last two months, the governments of Tunisia and Egypt have fallen in civilian uprisings. Libya is on the verge of civil war. There are often violent demonstrations in Bahrain, Iran, Yemen and Oman, and rumblings of revolutions in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan and Qatar. The Hezbullah terror organization has taken control in Lebanon. And what is the UN doing? Why, holding a 'mini-Durban' conference on Israel of course.

At a time when citizens of Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Iran, Tunisia, Yemen, Gaza, and elsewhere are demanding freedom and rejecting attempts to blame problems on Israel, the UN will hold another International Meeting on the Question of Palestine on March 7-8 in Vienna. The timing of this event corresponds with “Israeli Apartheid Week” (IAW) activities, which are part of the broader BDS and Durban strategy of demonization. In Vienna, officials from numerous highly politicized non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will take part in the UN-sponsored event, entitled “The Urgency of Addressing the Plight of Palestinian Political Prisoners in Israeli Prisons and Detention Facilities,” notes Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor.

“While hundreds of millions of people throughout the Middle East are standing up to brutal regimes and demanding basic human rights, these NGOs and the corrupt UN system continue collaboration in the obsessive and disproportionate assault on Israel,” says Prof. Gerald Steinberg, president of NGO Monitor. “Under the façade of ‘human rights,’ this UN-NGO partnership diverts attention away from the atrocities of totalitarian regimes. Much like IAW, this is nothing more than a politically motivated demonization event against Israel.”

The UN Meeting is one of several organized by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People each year. Many of the speakers promote a “one state” policy, seek the elimination of Jewish self-determination, and have used antisemitic rhetoric.

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By participating in this farce, the NGOs show their continued commitment to the strategy developed at the 2001 Durban Conference to exploit human rights in order to demonize and isolate Israel,” Steinberg adds. “In this ‘mini-Durban conference,’ no scheduled sessions will examine the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Palestinian Authority and Hamas jails – and certainly no sessions on the plight of Gilad Shalit, the kidnapped Israeli soldier held incommunicado by Hamas for over 1,700 days, and denied access to the Red Cross, all in blatant violation of international law.”

Jennifer Rubin asks (Hat Tip: Instapundit):

If we can't persuade the U.N. to stop its anti-Semitic agenda, isn't it at least time to stop funding it? "At a time when citizens of Egypt, Libya, Bahrain, Iran, Tunisia, Yemen, Gaza, and elsewhere are demanding freedom and rejecting attempts to blame problems on Israel, the U.N. will hold another International Meeting on the Question of Palestine March 7-8 in Vienna. The timing of this event corresponds with "Israeli Apartheid Week" (IAW) activities, which are part of the broader BDS and Durban strategy of demonization."

Yes, it most certainly is time to stop funding the UN. Will the Republican-controlled House stand up to Obama to do it?

Labels: anti-Israel obsession, BDS, Durban conference

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:09 PM