White House May Abandon Israel to Biased U.N.

The United States will not be speaking at an annual United Nations forum March 23^rd on violations committed in the Palestinian territories. U.S. policy since October 2013, when Israel rejoined Human Rights Council activity, has been not to talk at U.N. events where Palestine is the exclusive agenda. The primary issue to be discussed is the 50-day war this past summer in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Islamist terror organization Hamas. If reports that the Obama Administration may abandon Israel at the U.N. have any truth, it would go against decades of U.S. policy, and leave Israel completely vulnerable to rhetorical attacks by the international community, which could lead to more sanctions and terrorism against it.

Much of the international community has heavily criticized Israel for its conduct in the war despite the fact that Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel and Jews worldwide and initiated the war by launching unprompted rockets into Israel and creating terror tunnels to kidnap and murder Israelis, all while Israel went to unprecedented lengths to avoid civilian casualties.

Makarim Wibisono, special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied territories, described the general argument against Israel and what is expected from the Human Rights Council’s investigation. He expressed how “the ferocity of destruction and high proportion of civilian lives lost in Gaza cast serious doubts over Israel’s adherence to international humanitarian law principles of proportionality, distinction and precautions in attack.”

This is a serious mischaracterization of events during the war and illustrates a microcosm of the international community’s consistent blind condemnation of Israel, especially from Europe and the Arab world.

There is no moral equivalence between Israel and Hamas, but the U.N. nonetheless condemns Israel for its conduct during the summer war. The U.N.’s anti-Israel bias is not new, however, and is appearing recently in other contexts.

On March 20^th, the U.N’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) held its annual meeting and only condemned Israel for violating women’s rights out of 193 U.N. member states, citing the Israeli occupation as the primary hindrance to the advancement of Palestinian women.

Reality contradicts CSW’s conclusion, as Israel is a democracy where women enjoy equality under law. In Saudi Arabia, however, women cannot drive; in Sudan, 88% of women under 50 have undergone female genital mutilation; this does not include mass rape, honor killings, and the countless atrocities committed against women in other U.N. countries. With this contrast, one can only assume that the U.N.’s decision is biased hatred or a deep misunderstanding.

The U.N. has maintained its strong anti-Israel bias for decades and has been a platform for the international community, especially Europe and the Middle East, to delegitimize the Jewish state.

Abandoning Israel at the U.N would be a moral disgrace by the White House that would endanger U.S. and global security. Israel is a beacon of hope in a region on fire and a necessary strategic partner for the West and others fighting terrorism and rogue states.