Steve Kramer: The United Nations Against – Israel
It’s hard to be an Israeli today. Perhaps it’s because Israel is being militarily attacked on many fronts, while Western countries have turned their backs on it. Israel is a member of the OECD country (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development: 38 democratic member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade via the market economy). Currently, Israel is the only member to be wholly engaged in war against terrorists, while OECD countries such as Ireland, Norway, and Belgium respond by openly despising and condemning it. In response, Israel recently closed its embassy in Ireland to protest Ireland’s overt Jew hatred, which it hypocritically denies. However, the United Nations organization is even worse, continuing its campaign against the Jewish State while being chiefly funded by the US. (See Note at the end.)
When it comes to the UN, its agenda regarding Israel is not only its most popular diplomatic thrust but resolutions against Israel often fill the calendars of its constituent agencies. “Since its establishment, the UN has passed more resolutions condemning Israel than any other country, including regimes with abysmal human rights records like North Korea, Iran, and Afghanistan. In 2024 alone, the UN General Assembly adopted 17 resolutions singling out Israel, compared to six against all other nations combined. These resolutions often criticize Israel’s self-defense measures while ignoring the provocations, including thousands of rockets fired by Hamas and Hezbollah. (The Blogs: The UN’s Dangerous Bias Against Israel Exposed | Gregory Lyakhov | The Times of Israel) 11/24
In 2010, UNESCO (UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) designated the city of Hebron as a “Palestinian World Heritage site.” Hebron is one of Judaism’s four holy cities (Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberius, Safed) and is the place where Abraham purchased the first piece of Israelite property in the Promised Land for his wife Sarah’s burial chamber, 3,400 years ago. Subsequently, Abraham, Isaac, Rebecca, and Leah were all buried there, below what became known as the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs. This formidable structure, still standing today, was built about two thousand years ago by Herod, King of Judea during the Second Temple Period (1st century CE). Today, the still-standing structure houses both a synagogue and a mosque. The UN delegitimized Hebron’s Jewish history by denying its Jewish provenance over the Land of Israel more than 4,000 years before the Muslim invasion in the 4th century CE.
UNESCO also designated Rachel’s Tomb as a Palestinian World Heritage site at the same time. Rachel, the second wife of the Patriarch Jacob, is buried close to Bethlehem, where she died giving birth to Benjamin, the younger brother of Joseph, who was appointed Vizier by the Egyptian Pharaoh before the Exodus.
In 2016 UNESCO again disrespected Jewish history by naming Jerusalem’s Old City a World Heritage site, but not one designated as in Israel. (At least it wasn’t attributed to “Palestine” or Jordan either.) The holiest Jewish site is the Temple Mount (Arabs call it Haram al-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary) in the Old City of Jerusalem, Israel’s capital for 3,000 years. It is the location of the two ancient Jewish temples and is flanked by the Western Wall, the remaining part of the supporting wall of the temple compound, and the Jews’ second holiest site. Like the sites mentioned above, its Jewish history predates “Palestinian” claims by millennia.
UNESCO is only one of the UN agencies that concerns itself primarily with vilifying Israel. UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) perpetuates the refugee status of Palestinians for generation after generation, unlike the other UN refugee agency, UNHWR (UN High Commissioner for Refugees). The agency focuses on the resettlement of all refugees, not including Palestinians. UNRWA has been implicated in promoting anti-Israel and antisemitic content in its schools and hospitals, with many of its employees active Hamas terrorists.
Yet another agency, UNHRC (UN Human Rights Council), acts just the opposite of its title. Its Agenda Item 7 ensures that Israel is a permanent, yearly focus of scrutiny, while far more severe human rights abusers worldwide are ignored. The council has issued more resolutions condemning Israel than all other nations combined.
Then there’s Francesca Albanese, Special UN Rapporteur on the “occupied” Palestinian territories. She has made numerous antisemitic statements, including remarks trivializing the Holocaust and delegitimizing Israel’s existence. Her position inherently biases Albanese’s work, as her mandate excludes examining human rights abuses by Palestinian entities like Hamas or the Palestinian Authority. (https://populistpolicy.org/un-agencies-campaigning-against-israel/) 9/24
We shouldn’t forget the UN Security Council or General Assembly. In the Security Council, if not for the US veto power there would have been scores of binding resolutions against Israel. In the General Assembly, just from 1970-1975, there were 17 non-binding resolutions against Israel, including the infamous “Zionism is Racism” resolution in 19075. I’m surprised that there hasn’t been a repeat of that disreputable resolution.
The seven-front war that Israel is currently fighting has been a “victory” in many respects: Hamas has been reduced from a powerful terrorist paramilitary to a weakened collection of terrorist bands. Hezbollah has been decapitated and is a shadow of its former stalwart self, now useless to defend Iran. Iran itself has been deprived of its defensive missile array as well as its main proxy, Hezbollah. Yemen is still a problem even though distant from Israel. The paradox about Yemen is that the Western nations have done little to destroy the Houthis. Piracy by the Houthis has effectively reduced ship traffic through the Red Sea by 90%, causing global problems. However, we can expect much more devastation of Yemen by Israel.
The most significant question now that this war shows signs of ending is how to recover our Israeli hostages. The world, mainly the US, has hardly put any pressure on Iran to obtain the captives’ release. A month from now, with President Trump in power, we’ll see how potent his threats against Hamas will be.
If things turn more in Israel’s direction, 2025 may be a banner year for Aliyah to Israel, for the IDF’s reserve fighters to return to their families and occupations, and for a resurgent Israeli economy. Many here and elsewhere see God at work protecting Israel and the Jews. We fervently hope to see that fully manifested with the defeat of Israel’s enemies – soon. But then, there are Iran’s nuclear aspirations to deal with….
Note: The budget of the UN is about $3 billion. The US pays 28% of that: $840 million. Why? The UN is a collection of around 200 countries, with a majority of non-democratic ones. The US and Israel should resign from the UN. Perhaps an organization of democratic states could be founded into the “United Democracies”.