Peace Now Activists Confused By UN Resolutions Not Mentioning Israel

Tel Aviv, March 28 – Israeli organizations opposed to Israel’s settlements and policies toward the Palestinians expressed puzzlement today after the United Nations Security Council and General Assembly condemned North Korea and Russia, respectively, without singling out Israel for opprobrium. The organizations said they remain at a loss to explain why anyone would want to focus on the faults of countries other than Israel.

The Security Council denounced North Korea for launching medium-range missiles into the sea, in contravention of specific UN prohibitions. The General Assembly vote declared Russia’s annexation of the Crimea region of Ukraine illegal. Neither action invoked Israeli military or political policies, leaving the left-wing organizations scratching their heads over the priorities of the international community.

“Our assumption has always been that the best way to bring Israeli policies in line with our vision of nihilism is to enlist the international community in the effort to undermine Jewish sovereignty,” said Yariv Oppenheimer of Peace Now, which calls for Israeli withdrawal from all areas beyond the 1949 armistice lines, which will ease the eventual transition into just another Arab state that persecutes Jews. “But we’re challenged by these new developments, which clearly imply that the same international community has actual ideals in mind.”

Consistency has not been a major feature of UN resolutions; some states’ violations of others’ sovereignty have been roundly condemned, even militarily opposed, under UN authorization, while others get a free pass. The only country constantly under scrutiny has been Israel, whose offenses are dwarfed by those of other UN member states that somehow manage to avoid serious or sustained attention in UN forums. Peace Now, like other grantees of the New Israel Fund and various European states, have welcomed the tendency of oppressive regimes to steer attention to Israel in an effort to avoid the wrath of their own populations, as it saves them the effort of drumming up international vitriol against their own country.

Naomi Hazan, director of the New Israel Fund, fears that the UN is losing sight of its core mission. “Until recently, the maintenance of autocratic, oppressive dictatorships, under the guise of humanitarianism has been a hallmark of UN policy. But the votes against Russian imperialism and North Korean belligerence have raised the specter of actual humanitarianism, a monster that does not lend itself to being hijacked as easily toward our ends,” she said.