David Suissa

March 9, 2011

A UN resolution against hypocrisy

By David Suissa

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Writing a column protesting the hypocrisy of the United Nations is not really fair. It’s like a turkey shoot. The evidence is so overwhelming that the U.N. is viciously biased against Israel — and ridiculously biased in favor of the Palestinians — that you’re tempted to just move on to a less depressing subject.

But the consequences of these biases are real. Last month, for example, I was reminded at a Jewish World Watch (JWW) event of the genocidal horrors that continue to befall so many millions of Africans, and then, just a few weeks later, I watched the U.N. be all-consumed with yet another resolution against Israel.

According to JWW, the first genocide of the 21st century, in Sudan’s Darfur region, has killed up to 400,000 people, and 3 million more have been displaced. If you think that’s bad, since 1998, 5.4 million civilians in Congo have been killed by war-related violence, hunger and disease, and 45,000 more continue to die every month. Hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been raped, and 2 million people have been displaced.

Have you seen any emergency sessions and U.N. Security Council resolutions defending these victims and condemning these atrocities? Of course not.

Meanwhile, if you’re a Palestinian whose home has been displaced by a Jew in East Jerusalem — with the legal backing of the Israeli Supreme Court, no less — you can expect an outpouring of international support with a ready-made stage for weekly protests and top-level U.N. attention.

My point here is not to overplay or underplay the rights of any group, but to highlight hypocrisy — criminally negligent hypocrisy from an international organization whose charter obligates it to defend the rights and dignity of all human beings.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, from 2009-2010, the U.N. General Assembly passed 22 resolutions that were “one-sided or blatantly anti-Israel,” and of their 10 emergency sessions, six were about Israel. No emergency sessions were held on the Rwandan genocide, ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia or the two decades of atrocities in Sudan. That’s right, none.

And if you want to rail against the “Palestinian occupation,” don’t go to Tibet, where, according to various estimates, as many as 1.2 million Tibetans have died due to the Chinese occupation. Now, when’s the last time the U.N. took a break from Israel bashing to pass a resolution condemning the “Tibetan occupation”? How about never?

Like I said, a turkey shoot.

For my money, though, the most flagrant demonstration of U.N. hypocrisy is how they have ignored the plight of … Palestinians. Yes, Palestinians.

I’m talking about the millions of Palestinians who live in countries that have nothing to do with Jews or Israel. A country like, say, Lebanon.

This is what Mudar Zahran, a Palestinian refugee who fled Jordan and was granted asylum in the U.K., wrote last year in The Jerusalem Post:

“Lebanon, a country with some of the most hostile forces to Israel, has been holing up Palestinians inside camps for almost 30 years. Those camps do not have any foundations of livelihood or even sanitation.”

Zahran writes that the “Lebanon atrocities toward the Palestinians have been tolerated by the international community, not only by the media,” and that “many other Arab countries are no different than Lebanon in their ill-treatment and discrimination against the Palestinians.”

When’s the last time we heard of a Goldstone Report or a U.N. resolution in support of the poor, oppressed Palestinians who live in Arab lands? That’s right, never.

The U.N. is the Picasso of hypocrisy. For that honor, I’d love to see a brave member introduce at their next general session a Resolution Against Hypocrisy, complete with an independent watchdog group that would report on violations like misplaced priorities, double standards, disproportionate criticism and just plain discrimination.

If they have time, they could also report on the slew of NGOs that claim to fight for Palestinian rights, but who completely ignore the millions of oppressed Palestinians who don’t live inside or next to Israel.

This would be one busy watchdog group, especially if they report on the mind-bending hypocrisy of liberal groups pushing for boycotts against Israel while genocidal murderers and oppressors are let off the hook.

Of course, it’ll take a while to push through this resolution. But for the women and little girls being raped and murdered every day in the dark corners of Africa, or the millions of Arabs across the Middle East whose decades-long suffering has nothing to do with Jews or Israel, or the many millions of other oppressed people around the globe whose daily torture is worlds away from the glamorous press lounge at the American Colony Hotel in East Jerusalem, it won’t be a moment too soon.

Maybe President Obama can introduce the resolution on his next trip to Darfur, with a rape victim standing next to him.

David Suissa is a branding consultant and the founder of OLAM magazine. For speaking engagements and other inquiries, he can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or davidsuissa.com.

A version of this article appeared in print.

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excusing the israeli occupation of 1.6 million palestinians because palestinians are treated terribly in lebanon or because the UN should spend more time on other issues is a classic misdirection move. American blacks in the 1950s had a better standard of living than 90%+ of the inhabitants of the planet at the time. It didnt make segregation any more acceptable.You write on jewish issues for a jewish paper.Lose the relativism. What is your view on the occupation of 1.6 million palestnians by Israel ? permanent ocuupation or a palestinian state. As that rabbi said all the rest is commentary (or obfuscation)

Comment by didnt know that about the un on 3/10/11 at 3:29 am

The talk-back above is not the subject of the article. This is a common Israel-haters tactic of shift the focus and put words you did’t say in your mouth. As for the argument of the talk-back, it is apparent that this person is absolutely ignorant about Suissa’s positions as reflected in past articles. A little research of Suissa’s writing may have saved him from this unwarranted attack.

Comment by Avi on 3/10/11 at 1:51 pm

shift the focus is exactly the technique in the article:
let’s trash the UN
let’s talk about palestinians in lebanon

let’s ignore that the netanyahu govt is now making clear it is not interested in discussing a final settlement with a two state solution let’s ignorethat 83% of the members of his party oppose any territorial concessions to the palestinians
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=211654

because if we write enough articles about the un and palestinians in lebanon the occupation issue will just go away

will you be at aipac to applaud Bibi when he brings this nonsense ?

Comment by didnt know on 3/10/11 at 2:33 pm

let’s say the UN “sees the ligh” and passes a resolution praising israel’s superior treatment of palestinians in the west bank compared to lebanon and chinese policy in tibet”

so what
would that make it a good idea for israel to occupy the territory with its 1.6 mln palestinians as non citizens ?
israel is more humane than the totalitarian dictatorship in china and the child rapists in africa

gee that made me feel MUCH better

Comment by didnt know on 3/10/11 at 2:37 pm

Once again, this is not what Suissa said. And no, the occupation is not what the majority of Israelis want. But let’s not shift the discussion.

But I get it. You are OK with the treatment of Palestinians in Lebanon and the Chinese treatment of Tibet. And you are not bothered at all with the UN.

And have a great life.

Comment by Avi on 3/10/11 at 2:45 pm

last i looked this is the jewish journal not foreign policy magazine and relativism is irrelevant
and no i wouldnt care if the un voted that the earth is flat

if the occupation is not what the majority of israelis want its certainly not apparent from the govt policy or the views of 83% of likud members who oppose any concessions
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=211654

i wish it were different ...and that people who write columns acknowledge it isnt and its time to point that out

Comment by didnt know on 3/10/11 at 2:55 pm

Hey, why so I think we have already gone through this before, though you had another name?

But hey, I give up. Jews are fascists pigs. Israelis are JudeoNazis. Jews control the media. Aipac control Washington. 911 is the work of the Mossad. You are an exception. You win. Go have lunch. Enjoy your life.

Comment by Avi on 3/10/11 at 3:26 pm

nice that was exactly my point as a matter of fact i guess anyone that has a problem with bibi’s non policy also holds my view of jews as fascist pigs which includes at least 40% of israelis.

quite a shame such a large number of israelis shares my view of themselves as judeo nazis

but hey slogans are better than engaging reality it works for FM lieberman why shouldnt it work for you

Comment by didnt know on 3/11/11 at 12:57 am

Again??? Forgot your medication again? This is getting serious.

Comment by Avi on 3/11/11 at 8:24 am

zzzzzzzz people that criticize current israeli policy are calling them fascist pigs, neo nazis. Wanna add in self haters, siding with the enemy, etc etc

fortunately sane voices that actually know something look at things far differently

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-s-diplomatic-fiasco-is-serious-as-a-military-blunder-1.348501

Comment by didnt know on 3/11/11 at 9:39 am

It’s great to see features like this hitting a nerve.  People need to wake up & debate what the U.N. is doing while folks are either asleep at the wheel or simply accepting whatever Kabuki infotainment is routinely offered up by the MSM as “the whole truth and nothing but the truth…”

Here, Suissa points to a truth many don’t want to acknowledge (fails to serve some greater agenda?).  Ugh, looking to the U.N. to be the almighty, “win-win” problem-solver for the world seems like asking a sledge hammer to do the work of a scalpel.  One step forward, three steps back and… “oops” (never a good sound in delicate operations!).

Comment by Tristan Benz on 3/11/11 at 3:32 pm

the UN is an irrelevant bunch of hot air but a great punching bag for folk like suissa. wnat to know about a truth american jews won’t acknowledge ? read what informed intelligent israels think ? but more fun for american jews to sling slogans distorting intelligent criticism cf the nonsesne above about intelligent critique being the same as calling israel as “judeo nazis”

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-s-diplomatic-fiasco-is-serious-as-a-military-blunder-1.348501

of course neither tristan or avi will read the above article it may actually challenge their views unlike suissa’s simplistic slogans

Comment by didntknow on 3/11/11 at 4:09 pm

for avi
“...the Palestinians seem to have broken the pattern that former foreign minister Abba Eban termed “never missing and opportunity to miss an opportunity”.

And what about us? ...

We are stuck with our boringly predictable fear-mongers in government for the time being. For them, the possibility that the Arab world is moving towards democratization is an existential threat, because it will deprive them of their gloomy worldview. “

http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/strenger-than-fiction/netanyahu-s-boringly-predictable-fear-mongering-1.348593

Comment by read the israeli media on 3/11/11 at 10:29 pm

Sweetheart, I urge you to go see a doctor. Take care of yourself. I am really worried about you.

Comment by Avi on 3/11/11 at 11:05 pm

avi try posting that reaction to the haaretz verbatim quote and to the rest of their opinion piece from haaretz which i linked ...

but instead do it on the comments section on the haaretz website

then you can match your wit and insight against people that actually know something about israel

but as has often been observed people that cant respond in substance raise their voice or sling insults
save it for the comedy club heckling

Comment by rational critic on 3/12/11 at 1:44 pm

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