Criticized by some in Israel because she is a political outsider, Gabriela Shalev, Israel\’s incoming U.N. ambassador, wins the praise of past and current colleagues who say she is an exceptional legal mind with an unflappable exterior
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad plans again to attend this year\’s summit at the United Nations in New York. His speech, Ahmadinejad said, will discuss \”ruling the world based on justice.\”\n\n
Levey\’s experiences are so amusing, the uninitiated might think he made them up. As anyone who has spent considerable time in Israel knows, though, he didn\’t need to. Levey\’s cast of characters merely exemplifies the saying, \”Jews are just like other people — only more so.\”
That the United Nations is hostile to Israel hardly comes as a surprise. The perfidy that permeates the house over which Kurt Waldheim once presided can be cut with a knife; Israel bashing has become an integral part of the culture of that body. Such duplicity does not appear from thin air — it must be nurtured and stoked by individuals who, by dint of impressive titles, can command international attention and influence public opinion and thus cause much mischief. That is particularly apparent today in Louise Arbour, the United Nations high commissioner for human rights.
The high political theater surrounding Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad\’s visit to New York this week triggered plenty of protests, headlines and debates.
Briefs\n\n
\nJohn Bolton\’s tough pro-Israel rhetoric at the United Nations during Israel\’s recent crisis has galvanized Jewish support for the once-embattled nominee — and may have helped secure his nomination as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a key Jewish opponent of Bolton a year ago, said he now is undecided, principally because of the Israel issue.
Superskater and silver Olympic medalist Sasha Cohen lit up the runway recently at the Rodeo Drive Walk of Style event in Beverly Hills. It was a night of chowing down on yummy foods and stargazing as the Rodeo Drive Committee celebrated the illustrious careers of costume designers Edith Head (posthumous), James Acheson and Milena Canonero.
The U.N. General Assembly established the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in 1949 as a temporary agency focused on relief work for the Palestinians. It began operating in 1950. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians became refugees in the war that began when the Palestinians and their Arab allies attacked the fledgling Jewish state the day after its formation in 1948.
Armed gunmen roamed freely in U.N. refugee camps. They stockpiled weapons, recruited refugees and launched cross-border attacks. In response, opposing forces attacked the camps, aiming for the gunmen — but sometimes cutting down civilians in the process.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.