The Israel Project Releases Statement on Israel Re

Washington, DC, Dec. 23, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Israel Project today expressed extreme disappointment at the passage of today's United Nations Security Council Resolution that unfairly singles out the Jewish State and undermines the cause of peace for all people of the Middle East, and Israel in particular.

The resolution suggests that the location of the Jews’ most holy site, the Western Wall, is not in Israel, and that the Old City of Jerusalem is a "settlement." 

“Over the years, the United Nations has come to be known as an arena for bashing Israel, misrepresenting Israel, and jeopardizing the security of Israeli civilians through bias and feckless policies,” said Joshua Block, CEO of The Israel Project. “But the passage of today’s anti-Israel resolution has reached absurd new lows. Where is the world’s moral outrage at this blatant attempt to delegitimize the State of Israel, the only true democracy in a terror-plagued Middle East?”

The Israel Project also voiced disappointment with the United States’ decision to abstain from such an important vote.

“The United States’ abstention on this vital resolution is puzzling, especially since the key elements of this resolution are far more hostile toward Israel and even more toxic to the future prospects of peace than the settlements-related resolution that the United States vetoed in 2011,” said Block.  “It has been the United States’ longstanding policy to insist on negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians as the only means to reaching a peaceful agreement, and this move deals a real blow to the prospects for the peace process.

“The creation of a Palestinian state through such diplomatic side-stepping is counter-productive to achieving a real and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians.  The irony is that the creation of a Palestinian state through unilateral means, without holding Palestinian Authority elections and with the West Bank’s dependence upon international aid, would lead to a failed state.  Not only would the Palestinian state lack political and economic institutions, but there would be no clear sovereignty over claimed territory, and a divided government between Fatah and Hamas would ensue,” said Block.

As Aaron David Miller, longtime and respected Middle East peace negotiator and expert, correctly noted in a recent op-ed, the implications of this move by the United Nations are largely insignificant. “As hard as it may be to accept right now, a unilateral move might make matters worse. And the reality is that any initiative the United States proposes -- especially recognition of Palestinian statehood -- would anyway have a very real chance of being overturned or undermined by the next administration, which would leave the Obama legacy in tatters, while diminishing US credibility in the process,” said Miller.

Block added: “Instead of serving as a diplomatic force of unity, the United Nations continues its divisive reign.  The systemic anti-Israel bias at the United Nations reared its ugly head just two months ago with UNESCO’s move to pass a resolution that denies Judeo-Christian connections to the Temple Mount and the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Israel. Both of these resolutions are an embarrassment, and erode the United Nations’ moral credibility.”

About The Israel Project:

The Israel Project (TIP) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational organization that provides factual information about Israel and the Middle East to the press, policymakers and the public. Founded in 2003, TIP works in multiple languages to provide real-time background information, images, maps, audio, video, graphics and direct access to newsmakers. To learn more about TIP, visit http://www.theisraelproject.org.

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