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Arthur M. Horwitz
Publisher / Executive Editor
ahorwitz@renmedia.us
Israeli Leader Unveils Strategy Courting United Nations
F. Kevin Browett
Chief Operating Officer
kbrowett@renmedia.us
T
hanks to broadening and deepen-
ing respect for the Jewish state,
Israel foresees “a bright future” in
world affairs, despite the “obsessive bias”
shown toward it at the United Nations,
says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu.
He imagines the day when attitudes
toward Israel will improve and change how
U.N. governments vote on Israel.
Addressing the U.N. General Assembly
in New York City on Sept. 22, Netanyahu
imagined not only when more countries
would “stand with us at the U.N.,” but
when U.N. ambassadors no longer would
“reflexively condemn Israel.”
There may be “a storm before the
calm,” he acknowledged, alluding to the
Palestinian threat to again seek full state-
hood via the U.N. later this year, “but the
war against Israel at the U.N. is over.”
Netanyahu qualified his rosy view, mak-
ing it more believable, by saying change
will come “slowly but surely.” The U.N.
won’t easily give up anti-Israel rants.
MAKING THE CASE
I needed substantive reasoning for
Netanyahu’s sudden reversal toward
the U.N., which last year at the General
Assembly passed 20
resolutions against Israel
and just three against all
other countries.
And Netanyahu didn’t
disappoint.
To set the stage, he
said “more and more
nations” in Asia, Africa
Benjamin
and Latin America “see
Netanyahu
Israel as a potent partner
— a partner in fighting the terrorism of
today; a partner in developing the technol-
ogy of tomorrow.”
China, India, Russia and Japan also
have upgraded their take of Israel, he
said. “These powerful nations know that,
despite Israel’s small size, it can make a big
difference in many, many areas that are
important to them,” he said.
Netanyahu punctuated that Israel’s
“most cherished alliance” is with America.
He even extended an olive branch to U.S.
President Barack Obama, who he bit-
terly opposed over the U.S.-brokered Iran
nuclear rollback agreement.
It was refreshing to hear the Israeli
leader talk up the strengths of the ances-
tral Jewish homeland instead of only lam-
basting Palestinian leaders for glorifying
terror, abhorrent as such behavior is.
All Jews need a periodic reminder of
the global role that Israel majestically and
proudly plays.
6 October 13 • 2016
ONWARD, UPWARD
Further shredding the
myth that Israel is iso-
lated globally, Netanyahu
noted the Jewish state
has diplomatic ties with
more than 160 countries.
“World leaders
Robert Sklar
increasingly appreciate
Contributing Editor
that Israel is a power-
ful country with one
of the best intelligence
services on Earth,” he said. “Because of
our unmatched experience and proven
capabilities in fighting terrorism, many of
your governments seek our help in keep-
ing your countries safe. Many also seek to
benefit from Israel’s ingenuity in agricul-
ture, in health, in water, in cyber and in
their fusion of big data, connectivity and
artificial intelligence. That fusion that is
changing our world in every way.”
U.N. to dictate peace terms — and to
“determine our security and our vital
national interests.”
Earlier the same day,
President Mahmoud
Abbas of the Ramallah-
based Palestinian
Authority, which governs
Palestinian-controlled
areas of the West Bank,
told delegates the
Mahmoud
Palestine Liberation
Abbas
Organization was “the
sole legitimate represen-
tative of the Palestinian people” — ignor-
ing the PLO’s terrorist roots.
“We will preserve the independence
of Palestinian decision-making,” he said,
anticipating support from the U.N., the
Arab League, international law and inter-
national forums.
Israel’s “expansionist settlement plan
All Jews need a periodic reminder of the global
role that Israel majestically and proudly plays.
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Netanyahu cited how Israel has attracted
a fifth of the global private investment in
cybersecurity despite accounting for only a
10th of 1 percent of the world population.
“If hackers are targeting your banks,
your planes, your power grids and just
about everything else,” he said, “Israel can
offer indispensable help.”
Turning to the Arab world, Netanyahu
posited that peace treaties with Egypt and
Jordan would continue to be “anchors of
stability” in the volatile Middle East.
He asserted some Arab states “recognize
that Israel is not their enemy” and, in fact,
recognize it as “their ally” — with the
common enemies of Shiite-led Iran and
ISIS.
“Our common goals are security, pros-
perity and peace,” he said. “I believe that
in the years ahead, we will work together
to achieve these goals — work together
openly.”
Saudi Arabia would be among the Sunni
Arab states that could align politically
with Israel. Although not Arab, primarily
Sunni Turkey also is stepping up relations
with Israel.
FORGING AHEAD
Amid laying the groundwork for bet-
ter international standing for Israel,
Netanyahu reminded General Assembly
delegates that Israel would accept no
Palestinian-encouraged attempts by the
will destroy whatever the possibility and
hopes are left for the two-state solution on
the 1967 borders,” Abbas said, whitewash-
ing the P.A.’s culture of anti-Zionist hate.
“The settlements,” he said, “are illegal in
every aspect and any manifestation.”
Abbas sought “international protection
for the Palestinian people” in hopes of
bringing “an end to the Israeli occupation”
of the U.N.-recognized “observer state
of Palestine.” He seemed to say a pend-
ing international peace forum brokered
by France would have a better chance of
resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
than direct, bilateral peace talks.
Netanyahu astutely stressed the road to
resolving final-status issues “runs through
Jerusalem and Ramallah” — nowhere
else. Still, he erred in not addressing
Israeli settlements, legitimate as many are;
unchecked growth has muddled the pros-
pect of new talks.
The Israeli leader sagaciously chastised
the U.N. for spending so much time over
the years “condemning the only liberal
democracy in the Middle East.” He sug-
gested focusing more on “war, disease,
poverty, climate change and all the other
serious problems that plague the planet.”
For starters, tyrannical regimes in
Syria, Iran, North Korea, Yemen and the
Gaza Strip quickly come to mind as more
deserving of U.N. attention than the dem-
ocratic leadership in Jerusalem.
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