The honeymoon was sure to end sooner or later. Since Karen Koning AbuZayd took the reins nearly a year ago of the U.N. relief agency for Palestinian refugees, Israeli officials had praised her for steering clear of the politics of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
There may be no greater test of the United Nations\’ vaunted neutrality than to be a Palestinian staffer of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip or West Bank.
As Washington and the West weigh a cutoff of aid to a Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) could become a crucial lifeline to millions of Palestinian refugees who depend on it for vital services. However, the recent Palestinian parliamentary elections have revived a long-standing Israeli concern: that some of UNRWA\’s staff are members of Hamas or at least sympathize with the terrorist group\’s anti-Israel cause.
Should the United States try to reform the United Nations, or give up on it? Tough choice.
On the one hand, the United Nations is the only club that every nation can join. It has become the principal source of international law. It embodies humanity\’s hopes for international cooperation and world peace.
All of this comes to mind in the face of this week\’s effort by the Palestinians to generate anti-Israel resolutions in the General Assembly in response to the recent ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) — the judicial but injudicious arm of the United Nations — that Israel\’s controversial new security barrier is illegal and must be torn down.
When it comes to action at the United Nations, Europe — considered by many observers to be the organization\’s moral bellwether — often decides the course.
That was the case again this week as the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution demanding that Israel comply with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling that it must tear down its West Bank security barrier and compensate Palestinians affected by its construction.
Attacks on Israel are escalating again. With another deadly suicide bombing in the heart of Jerusalem, the race to thwart the infiltration of terrorists is up against yet another rush: to condemn Israel at the United Nations.
Babak Tehrani was 17 years old in June 1994 when he hugged his parents and two younger brothers, left his home in Tehran and, guided by a well-paid smuggler, tried to slip across the rugged mountains from Iran into Pakistan.
A Syrian-led draft resolution condemning Israel is not getting support at the U.N. Security Council. Syria has been unable to convince Security Council members to vote on the resolution.
\”What you see before you are modern-day partisans,\” said Roz Rothstein at a Oct. 19 dinner co-sponsored by StandWithUs and Media Line honoring former U.N. Ambassador Alan Keyes. Rothstein, founder and president of StandWithUs, was speaking of her organizations\’ board members, but she urged the standing room-only crowd of 360 to participate in the struggle.
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