Unanimous: Senate Sends an Important Message About Israel
All 100 U.S. senators signed a letter, sent to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, demanding that the world body end its “anti-Israel agenda.”
The letter, authored by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Christopher A. Coons, D-Del., called on Guterres to “ensure that Israel is treated neither better nor worse than any other U.N. member in good standing.”
Further, the letter noted that “too often, the U.N. is exploited as a vehicle for targeting Israel rather than as a forum committed to advancing the lofty goals of its founders. These actions have at times reinforced the broader scourge of anti-Semitism, and distracted certain U.N. entities from their original missions.”
The letter condemns several U.N. bodies, including the Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, the Human Rights Council and the cultural body UNESCO. The senators urged the Human Rights Council to address “the many pressing human rights challenges of our time in countries such as Russia, China, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Venezuela, and South Sudan,” rather than singling out Israel for criticism. UNESCO, meanwhile, last year passed two resolutions denying Jewish ties to the Temple Mount holy site.
While the letter does not mention an end to any U.S. funding for the world body, the senators wrote, “As both the U.N.’s principal founding member and its largest contributor, the United States should insist on reform….Continued targeting of Israel by the U.N. Human Rights Council and other U.N. entities is unacceptable. This situation must change.”
This article was originally published at JNS.org. Used with permission.
