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The annual irrelevant circus at UN headquarters in New York has been taking place once again…writes Michael Kuttner.
Leaders of member nations have performed their usual meaningless acts which at the end of the day although full of sound and fury signify absolutely nothing. Their pontifications are predictable and as in previous years will achieve very little in the way of advancing freedom, democracy, human rights and the alleviation of disasters which afflict large parts of humanity today. If ever one needed a perfect example of how corrupted and hypocritical the United Nations has become this annual General Assembly gathering provides it.
Murray McCully, New Zealand’s Foreign Minister, may delight in being a member of the Security Council but quite honestly when one examines its track record one wonders exactly what there is to be proud of. As the recipient of regular unadulterated one-sided bashing, Israelis have a justifiably jaundiced view of what transpires at this organization. Only amongst the starry-eyed lemmings of the left will you find any sort of support. For the rest of us, apart from a momentary nanosecond of sanity when it was founded, the United Nations has proven to be a fatally flawed body. Starting out with such high hopes for a better world following the Holocaust the UN has been subverted by those whose agenda is far removed from the original charter.
This year’s annual hot air festival has provided yet more reasons why one should question whether staying a member is worth the expense and effort.
The flag farce is a classic example of what passes for serious diplomacy these days. According to the rules of the UN itself the flags of full member countries are flown in front of the building. It therefore follows that those entities which are not full members cannot have their flags flown. Very simple really. However this being the UN where rules do not apply when it comes to certain countries, a majority of members decided to change the rules and allow the Palestinian Authority as well as the Vatican to have their flags flown. This sleight of hand was of course orchestrated at the behest of the PA who incidentally tried to recruit the Vatican to their cause. On this occasion, to their credit, the Vatican did not want to be dragged into what was intended to be an Israel bashing exercise and therefore they demanded that their name be dropped from the resolution.
It was as plain as daylight that the real intention was to host a public relations extravaganza to be addressed by Abbas and afford him the opportunity to make more outrageous libels against Israel while at the same time appearing as a hero in the eyes of the Arab world. Instead of sitting down and negotiating an end to the conflict, Abbas and friends preferred to engage in a totally meaningless performance. In this he was aided and abetted by most of the UN membership even though they must have known that the real aim was to once again bash Israel. It is instructive to note at this stage that Australia was one of a handful of nations to see through this charade and voted against while New Zealand once again sided with the immoral majority and voted “yes” thus facilitating yet another anti Israel gang up.
By the way, I suggest you look closely at the flags of the non-existent country of Palestine and Jordan. You will note that they are virtually identical. That leads one to the logical conclusion that in fact Jordan is already the second State in the so-called 2 State solution. Draw your own conclusions as to what that means.
Events transpired just as predicted at the flag raising ceremony and this was followed later by an address to the General Assembly by the man erroneously designated as a peace partner. In a speech laden with vitriol, slanders and lies about the Jewish People’s connections to the Temple Mount, Abbas once again demonstrated that neither he nor his corrupt and rotten outfit are ready for any sort of genuine and realistic peace. His much touted “bombshell” turned out to be a dud. Repudiating Oslo is a meaningless gesture as this fatally flawed agreement was doomed from the beginning owing to Arafat and his successor’s violations of its provisions. The new Middle East ballyhoo which accompanied its birth has turned into an abortion of Middle East barbarism and Islamic terror.
In the past week as a direct result of this continuing torrent of incitement four Jewish children were left orphans when their parents were murdered by terrorists from the PA and yet more Jews were also stabbed and shot. Some naïve individuals expected expressions of condemnation from the PA and Hamas. All they got was praise from Hamas for the heroic deeds and silence from Abbas. His silence was eventually broken when he expressed outrage at Israel killing the terrorists, not the innocent victims. Meanwhile the UN remained mute.
The usual rubbish statements emanated from certain quarters calling for restraint by all sides and not surprisingly implying that Jews visiting the Temple Mount somehow presented a threat to peace and stability in the region. This disconnect from reality only reinforces the total disillusionment with the UN.
The Israeli Prime Minister’s speech to the General Assembly fell as usual on deaf ears. It doesn’t really matter what he has to say or how he says it. It is a complete waste of time. Just as the League of Nations did not want to confront the rising tide of anti Jewish pogroms in Europe, so today the UN prefers to ignore the rising tide of delegitimization and incitement against the Jewish State. On this occasion as in the past, those Arab/Moslem countries which deny the legitimacy of Israel were absent when the Israeli PM spoke. They were joined by John Kerry and Samantha Power, the latter being the US ambassador to the UN, the official excuse being that Barak Obama had called a special meeting which they needed to attend. What a remarkable coincidence that this so-called meeting had to take place precisely at the same time as Netanyahu addressed the General Assembly. A typical example of the White House aligning itself with those who deny Israel’s right to exist and plot to eliminate a fellow UN member.
Another notable absentee from Netanyahu’s speech was Ban Ki- Moon who somehow vanished at that moment. What further proof does one need as to the irrelevance of the UN as far as Israel is concerned?
Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany has publicly condemned Iranian incitement against the Jewish State. Canberra, Wellington and other capitals remain conspicuously silent. They are most probably too busy organizing trade missions to Tehran to worry about Iran’s contempt for human rights and plans to murder Israelis.
Another indication of how farcical the UN has become is the appointment of Saudi Arabia to chair a UN Human Rights Council panel. Elected to the UNHRC in 2013 this serial violator of human rights faced no opposition from the USA, EU and other nations. A country which beheads, crucifies, lashes and executes more individuals than any other country, denies freedom of worship to Christians and Jews and denies women basic rights, is now heading a UN panel on human rights. Only in an organization which is so perverted can this travesty take place. The fact that it causes no outrage and demands for rectification speaks volumes about the depths to which the UN has sunk. Look at this link from UN Watch and appreciate the extent to which international double standards have become the norm these days.
http://www.unwatch.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=bdKKISNqEmG&b=1285603&ct=14763037¬oc=1
Do we really want to continue membership in such an outfit? The time must surely come quite soon when sane and sensible citizens will demand change or failing that, divorce. An alternative world body consisting of countries which respect democracy and human rights would then need to arise.
Jews and Israelis need not look to the UN as presently constituted for any sort of fair and balanced treatment. Hopefully Israel’s new ambassador to the UN will deliver a strong message in this regard. The time for diplomatic double talk is well and truly over.
Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel and is J-Wire’s correspondent in the region.
