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2017-04-25 International-UN-NGOs
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Trump impact: UN A-G and head of UNESCO say no more anti-Israel bias
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| If you have been to a Passover Seder dinner, dear Reader, you probably sang "Dayenu", an ancient song of the holiday. The lyrics go on for fifteen verses along the lines of: If God had only taken us out of slavery in Egypt, Dayenu -- it would have sufficed. If God had only led us through the desert, Dayenu -- it would have sufficed. If God had only given us the Bible, etc. I find myself every few days realizing that if this or that thing just reported had been all President Trump had accomplished, it would have sufficed. But this goes well beyond sufficient into the realm of inconceivable to me. The man is on track to making Jew hatred once again unacceptable by sheer force of personality. |
 UN chief vows to stand up against anti-Israel bias, anti-Semitism
[IsraelTimes] United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday vowed to stand up against anti-Israel bias at the world organization and said the Jewish state must be treated like any other member state.
Speaking to delegates at the World Jewish Congress’s plenary assembly in New York, while Israel marked Holocaust Remembrance Day, the UN chief said that as secretary-general, he would be “on the front lines in the fight against anti-Semitism,” which he warned was on the rise in Europe and America, and called “absolutely unacceptable.”
He promised to “make sure that the United Nations is able to conduct all possible actions for anti-Semitism to be condemned, and if possible eradicated from the face of the earth.”
Guterres said “anti-Semitism never died despite the shock of the Holocaust,” adding that it was “alive and well today,” citing online hate speech, attacks against Jews, and the destruction of Jewish monuments and cemeteries.
Guterres said he would “guarantee” that those working under him would abide by principles that he considers right.
“As secretary general of the United Nations I consider that the state of Israel needs to be treated as any other state,” he said to applause.
He stressed that Israel has an “undeniable right to exist and to live in peace and security with its neighbors,” and that “the modern form of anti-Semitism is the denial of the existence of the State of Israel.”
“I have already had the opportunity to show that I’m ready to abide by that principle even when that forces me to take some decisions that create some uncomfortable situations,” he added, in reference to a deepening row over bias within the UN, exacerbated last month when a UN rights expert issued a blistering criticism of Israel’s policies.
Former UN official and Jordanian national Rima Khalaf last month said Guterres asked her to withdraw a report in which she accused Israel of being an “apartheid state” and subsequently resigned.
The UN chief nonetheless qualified: “That does not mean that I will always be in agreement with all the decisions that are taken at any moment by any government that exists in Israel.”
His 15-minute speech was interrupted by applause at least 11 times. The former Portuguese prime minister was also given a standing ovation.
It was the first time that a UN secretary general has addressed an international gathering of Jewish leaders.
Israel last month announced a $2 million cut in its contribution to the UN budget because of constant criticism by the UN Human Rights Council of its policies towards the Palestinians.
Israel had already cut $6 million from its $11.7 million contribution after a Security Council resolution passed in December condemned Israel’s settlement building
On Monday, UN Security Council ambassadors are scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump and US lawmakers for talks likely to include the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and US cuts to UN funding.
UNESCO head calls Temple Mount ‘holiest place in Judaism’
[IsraelTimes] The head of the United Nations’ cultural body UNESCO defended Jewish links to holy sites in Jerusalem on Monday, criticizing her own agency’s governing board for passing a series of resolutions that downplay or deny any Jewish connection to its most sacred spaces.
Irina Bokova, head of the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, called the Temple Mount the “holiest place in Judaism,” during a Monday address in from of the World Jewish Congress in New York.
“The Al Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram al-Sharif, the sacred shrine of the Muslims, is also the Har Habayit – or Temple Mount – the holiest place in Judaism, whose Western Wall is revered by millions across the world, a few steps away from the Saint Sepulchre and the Mount of Olives holy to the Christians,” she said.
Defending the links of all three monotheistic religions to Jerusalem, Bokova told delegates that “to deny, conceal, or erase any of the Jewish, Christian or Muslim traditions runs counter to the reasons that justified its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage list.”
Last October UNESCO passed a resolution sponsored by Arab states that ignored Jewish and Christian historical ties to Jerusalem holy sites, sparking an outcry in Israel.
Bokova subsequently criticized the agency saying, “The heritage of Jerusalem is indivisible, and each of its communities has a right to the explicit recognition of their history and relationship with the city.”
Israel and the United States suspended their funding to the committee in 2011 after the Palestinians were admitted as members. Both countries lost their voting rights as a result, which has made the passage of anti-Israel resolutions more straightforward.
Also in her address, Bokova launched a new policy guide for educators focused on the teaching of the Holocaust, genocide and mass atrocities.
“We must empower future generations with the lessons from the Holocaust, equip our children and grandchildren with the tools they need to vanquish intolerance and hate, bigotry and anti-Semitism, racism and prejudice,” she said. 
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