Looking Back

From the William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish Detroit History

accessible at www.djnfoundation.org

62 | JANUARY 27 • 2022

An Odious UN Resolution
L

ast month, Dec. 16, 2021, marked the
30th anniversary of the revoking of
the odious United Nations resolution
3379. Adopted by the UN’s general assem-
bly on Nov. 10, 1975, the resolution “deter-
mined” that “Zionism is a form of racism
and racial discrimination.”
Think of the basic logic of resolution
3379. First, there are variations on the
meaning of Zion. Specifically,
the word can refer to a hill in
Jerusalem. The larger mean-
ing, as Merriam-Webster
dictionary defines the term,
refers to: “the Jewish home-
land that is symbolic of
Judaism or of Jewish national
aspiration.” So, if Zionism is a
form of racism, then anyone
— Jewish or non-Jewish — who supports
a Jewish homeland is inherently a racist.
By this reasoning, all of us who work for
and have worked for the Detroit Jewish News
might be considered racists
This UN resolution also reflects the
particular politics of the era as well as the
messy nature of the democratic process at
the UN. The list of nations voting for res-
olution 3379 largely consists of anti-Israel
Arab states and supporting allies, including
such “role-model nations” as Cuba, East
Germany, Pakistan and Mali. Moreover,
they were urged on by the Soviet Union
with its larger agenda of confronting
the U.S., which was supportive of Israel.
Western nations voted against the measure.
Israel and the U.S. opposed the resolu-
tion. Chaim Herzog, Israeli ambassador to
the UN and future president of Israel, noted
with irony that the resolution was passed
on the 37th anniversary of Kristallnacht in
Germany: “For us, the Jewish people, this
resolution based on hatred, falsehood and
arrogance, is devoid of any moral or legal
value. For us, the Jewish people, this is no
more than a piece of paper and we shall
treat it as such.”

Daniel Patrick Moynihan, U.S. ambassa-
dor to the UN, agreed: “[The United States]
does not acknowledge, it will not abide by;
it will never acquiesce in this infamous act
... A great evil has been loosed upon the
world.”

President Gerald Ford supported this
position. Even Nelson Mandela said that he
found the resolution to be “offensive” (Dec.
13, 1999, JN).

One need look no further than the
William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish
Detroit History to see the impact upon the
local community. There are 130 pages that
have discussions of “Zionism is Racism.”

There are letters from citizens. For
example, see those from Louis Panush
(Jan. 4, 1985) and Leslie Rochlen (age
12) and Margo Shorr (age 11) (Nov. 21,
1975).
It is a topic in many articles. Long-
time Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit official Robert Aronson related
that, the UN resolution was passed
within a month of his hire at the
Milwaukee Federation (before he came
to Detroit): “That kind of lit my fire.”
So, he organized a pro-Zionist rally
attended by 2,000 supporters (Oct. 22,
1999). Brenda Rosenberg and Samia
Bahsoun wrote the guest column “Anti-
Zionism is Racism: Why We Need to
Have the Conversation (April 11, 2013).

In 1991, President George H. W.
Bush personally introduced the motion
at the UN that revoked resolution 3379.
Unfortunately, the sentiments of
3379 still linger today, on col-
lege campuses and the internet,
or outside Congregation Beth
Israel in Ann Arbor. As the
ADL recently stated, the fight
is not over.

Want to learn more? Go to the DJN
Foundation archives, available for
free at www.djnfoundation.org.

Mike Smith
Alene and
Graham Landau
Archivist Chair

William Davidson Digital Archive of Jewish
Detroit History to see the impact upon the
local community. There are 130 pages that
have discussions of “Zionism is Racism.”

There are letters from citizens. For

example, see those from Louis Panush
(Jan. 4, 1985) and Leslie Rochlen (age
12) and Margo Shorr (age 11) (Nov. 21,

It is a topic in many articles. Long-

time Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit official Robert Aronson related

Milwaukee Federation (before he came
to Detroit): “That kind of lit my fire.”

attended by 2,000 supporters (Oct. 22,
1999). Brenda Rosenberg and Samia
Bahsoun wrote the guest column “Anti-

Have the Conversation (April 11, 2013).

Bush personally introduced the motion
at the UN that revoked resolution 3379.

Milwaukee Federation (before he came

Unfortunately, the sentiments of

lege campuses and the internet,