Since becoming U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley has unleashed numerous scathing rebukes of the anti-Israel bias that often dominates discussions and votes at the world body.
Her tough stance in support of Israel is having an impact.
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres recently rejected a U.N. report accusing Israel of being an apartheid state. It was co-authored by Richard Falk, the former UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights.
Haley described it as “false and defamatory” and it led to the resignation of U.N. Undersecretary General Rima Khalaf.
But Khalaf’s resignation and Guterres’ rejection of the report are unlikely to change deep-seated, anti-Israel biases and anti-Semitic attitudes at the United Nations. Just like Khalaf and Falk, many Arab government officials are unlikely to change their disposition about Israel and apartheid.
Apartheid is defined as “any system or practice that separates people according to color, ethnicity, caste, etc.
I witnessed it first hand when I visited South Africa during the 1980’s. The white government kept black Africans apart from white ones. They were segregated in the workplace and at night, they and so-called “coloreds” (people of mixed race) were forced to commute from Johannesburg to their homes in nearby townships like Soweto. They were not allowed to participate in an open political process.
Israel is not at all like South Africa during the apartheid era. As a matter of fact, many Arab countries more closely resemble the South African apartheid state than does Israel.
On March 20, 2017, during a U.N. Human Rights Council discussion, the PLO, Qatar, Sudan, Syria, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia accused Israel of committing crimes against humanity, practicing apartheid, discrimination, and extremism.
Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of U.N. Watch gave an insightful response which was followed by silence in the UNHCR chamber.
Talk about calling the kettle black. You won’t want to miss this.