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B’nai B’rith International welcomes the reported invitation to Israel to join the Western European and Others Group (WEOG) at United Nations institutions in Geneva, ending the exclusion of the Jewish state from any regional group at the European hub of the world body, home to the Human Rights Council (UNHRC).

Israel’s reported admission to WEOG—a group that includes such countries as Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, with the United States acting as an observer—stands to allay some of Israel’s isolation at the UNHRC, as well as other U.N. entities.

“B’nai B’rith commends all those who played a leadership role in Israel’s long-overdue inclusion in a regional group,” B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs said. “We’ve long advocated for Israel, a vibrant democracy, to be included in WEOG in Geneva, as it has been in New York.”

B’nai B’rith hopes that Israel’s membership in WEOG will encourage other actors within the U.N. system to build upon this progress by effectively tackling the other significant impediments to the fair and equal treatment of Israel at the United Nations.

“Israel’s reported inclusion in WEOG is a positive step, but it has been a long time in coming. Certainly we will watch to see if Israel will now be treated more fairly in Geneva, where it has been a perennial and singular target of political attacks,” B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin said. “Fairness toward Israel at the U.N.‎ is key to restoring the credibility of the world body, and particularly significant for the U.N.’s human rights agencies as they have consistently shown bias when dealing with the Jewish state.”