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Is A New Day Dawning For Israel At The U.N.?
T
SHAHAR AZRAN
Sheryl Silver
wo thousand pro-Israel
activists singing Hatikvah
at the United Nations?
Just a weird dream? No. It actu-
ally occurred — twice: Last
May at the first Ambassadors
Against BDS summit hosted
by Israel’s dynamic U.N.
Ambassador Danny Danon, then
again, this year, at the second
annual Ambassadors Against
BDS summit. And this time, I
was there.
Considering the Israel-bashing
that normally goes on at the
U.N., I thought being there, sing-
ing Israel’s national anthem with
2,000 others who love Israel,
would be a memorable moment
… and it was.
The conference was far more
than a memorable moment.
It was an information-packed
day designed to update us on
progress in the effort to defeat
the BDS movement and provide
effective strategies for complet-
ing the task. We heard from
Ambassador Danon, America’s
U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley,
Natan Sharansky, World Jewish
Congress CEO, Robert Singer and
ZOA National President Morton
Klein, among others.
From all I heard, there is hope
on the horizon for Israel across
the U.S. and even at the U.N.
In his opening remarks,
Danon pointed to recent suc-
cesses against the BDS move-
ment. “Banks across the world
are shutting down the accounts
of BDS activists,” he said.
“Musicians and artists have
stood up against calls to boycott
Israel and performed to rave
reviews. And, most importantly,
governments and leaders are
finally acknowledging the BDS
movement for what it really is —
pure anti-Semitism.”
He spoke of the “disturbing
and troubling trend of increased
anti-Semitic incidents” world-
wide, then returned to successes
on the BDS front.
“One year after we first gath-
ered, our call is being heeded,”
he said. “Seventeen U.S. states
now have anti-BDS initiatives on
their books and more will soon
join them.” (Update: In May,
Teaxas, Minnesota and Nevada
passed initiatives, bringing the
total to 20 states.)
Danon cautioned against com-
placency. “We cannot rest for
even a moment,” he said. ”The
BDS movement is still active and
still strong. Every day, academic
and religious groups, student
unions and investment firms are
falling prey to boycott calls.”
The greatest danger of BDS,
he said, “is not in their threats,”
but “in their ability to cower us
into silence. If we do not stand
up strongly — if we do not speak
the truth on campuses, in the
boardroom and here in the U.N.,
they will win.”
U.N. ANTI-ISRAEL BIAS
Danon noted that 20 resolu-
tions condemning Israel had
been adopted by the General
Assembly in 2016 alone, com-
pared to only six condemn-
ing all other nations. He also
criticized the “chutzpah” of the
Security Council’s resolution
last December questioning the
legitimacy of Israel’s presence in
Jerusalem.
Unfortunately, “Israel’s chal-
lenges at the U.N. don’t end
with hate-filled resolutions,” he
said. “The halls of the U.N. are
now being infiltrated by the
boycott movement as well. The
U.N. Human Rights Council
announced that it is creating a
Ambassadors Haley and Danon
Attendees of the conference
10
June 1 • 2017
jn
blacklist of companies operating
in parts of Israel.”
He then made this critical
point: “This conference isn’t just
about stopping a boycott. It’s
about making clear once and for
all that the Jewish people and
the Jewish state will not be treat-
ed differently. The Jewish com-
munity does not need to be only
defended but celebrated and
embraced. And Israel does not
only have the right to exist. It is
entitled to flourish and thrive.”
POWERFUL SPEAKERS
Following Danon’s speech,
Summit moderator, journal-
ist Liz Claman, introduced
Ambassador Haley, referencing
Haley’s now-famous, “The days
of Israel-bashing at the U.N. are
over” remark.
Haley quickly made her sup-
port for Israel and opposition to
the BDS movement crystal clear.
“I am here today as a proud
daughter of South Carolina
as much as I am here as our
U.S. Ambassador to the United
Nations,” she began. “I could not
be more proud of the people of
my home state and the unwaver-
ing support they’ve shown for
Israel over the decades.”
After all, “What other state in
the nation with less than 1 per-
cent Jewish population gives its
residents the opportunity to buy
an ‘I stand with Israel’ license
plate?” she asked.
South Carolina led the nation
in taking on the anti-Semitic
BDS movement. A law was
passed in 2015 that bans tax-
payer funds from being used to
do business with any company
that discriminates on the basis
of race, color, religion, gender or
national origin, including those
involved in the BDS movement.
“The effort to delegitimize
the state of Israel being waged
on college campuses and the
anti-Israel obsession at the U.N.
are one in the same,” Haley said.
“They both seek to deny Israel’s
right to exist. They are both
efforts to intimidate her friends
and embolden her enemies.”
World Jewish Congress (WJC)
CEO Robert Singer was the
final speaker of the plenary ses-
sion. “The boycott, divestment
and sanctions movement says it
wants peace,” he said. “It claims
to fight under the banner of
human rights. But this move-
ment is based on lies, incite-
ment and deception. BDS is not
about peace. BDS is not about
helping the Palestinians. BDS is
not about human rights. What
BDS really wants is to deny the
Jewish people’s right to a home-
land in Israel.”
Singer noted that Congress
had passed a federal law that
opposes politically motivated
actions that penalize or other-
wise limit commercial relations
with Israel, like BDS. Senators
Joe Manchin and Marco Rubio
also introduced the Combating
BDS Act of 2017. This calls for
protecting states and local gov-
ernments from lawsuits over
anti-BDS legislation.
Noting that the BDS move-
ment has also suffered signifi-
cant losses in Canada, the UK,
France and Spain, he stated,
“Operation Fightback is under
way — and we are winning.
“It may sound strange to hear
what I am about to say: Winds
of change are blowing even here
at U.N. Headquarters.”
The new U.N. Secretary Gen.
Antonio Guterres, he said, “is a
friend of the Jewish people. He
wants Israel to be treated fairly,
just like any other country.”
There’s already evidence of
that. In mid-March, a report
accusing Israel of establishing an
apartheid regime that oppressed
the Palestinian people was
released by the U.N. Economic
and Social Commission for
Western Asia (ESCWA).
Outraged by the report’s anti-
Israel bias, Danon immediately
called, then met with Haley.
They issued separate statements
calling on Guterres to reject
the report. Within 24 hours, the
report was removed from the
UNESCWA website.
Call me naïve, but I left the
Ambassadors Against BDS sum-
mit optimistic about Israel’s
future at the U.N. With Danon,
Haley and Guterres there, the
expression “dream team” comes
to mind. Under their leadership,
let’s hope Israel’s U.N. night-
mares come to an end … and
our dreams of fair treatment for
Israel at the U.N. come true. •
Sheryl Silver is a former national secre-
tary of ZOA, founder of the Enough is
Enough Initiative and a lifelong Temple
Israel member.