B’nai B’rith International President Gary P. Saltzman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
B’nai B’rith International spoke before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) today under its general agenda “Item 7,” which continuously singles out Israel alone for harsh criticism and opprobrium. U.N. Geneva representative Richard Sadoune spoke on behalf of B’nai B’rith, calling out the council’s actions in seeking to effectively create a discriminatory blacklist of Israeli companies.
Sadoune said:
“Mr. President,
Last March, this council passed an outrageous resolution that tasked the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights with creating what some hope will become a blacklist enabling discriminatory action against many Israeli companies as well as international companies that do business with Israelis, often providing for their security.
Efforts to boycott businesses owned by or tied to Jews are not new—they have a long and sordid history. They have long been a manifestation of the dangerous disease that is anti-Semitism, and they are often a precursor to violence. Knowing this history, and the genuine complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the council should have rejected out-of-hand such an obscene resolution.
One of the pillars of the U.N. is human rights, and fighting against anti-Semitism should be a key component of this pillar. We, Jews and non-Jews alike, deserve a U.N. that does not discriminate and cause harm. Instead, this council bows to anti-Semitism, under the guise of anti-Israelism, and enables it. If this body is to have any relevance for promoting genuine peace and reconciliation, action is desperately needed now. This is the time to repeal the resolution.
Thank you, Mr. President.”
Click here to watch Sadoune present to the UNHRC (chapter 49).
B’nai B’rith International spoke before the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) today under its general agenda “Item 7,” which continuously singles out Israel alone for harsh criticism and opprobrium. U.N. Geneva representative Richard Sadoune spoke on behalf of B’nai B’rith, calling out the council’s actions in seeking to effectively create a discriminatory blacklist of Israeli companies.
Sadoune said:
“Mr. President,
Last March, this council passed an outrageous resolution that tasked the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights with creating what some hope will become a blacklist enabling discriminatory action against many Israeli companies as well as international companies that do business with Israelis, often providing for their security.
Efforts to boycott businesses owned by or tied to Jews are not new—they have a long and sordid history. They have long been a manifestation of the dangerous disease that is anti-Semitism, and they are often a precursor to violence. Knowing this history, and the genuine complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the council should have rejected out-of-hand such an obscene resolution.
One of the pillars of the U.N. is human rights, and fighting against anti-Semitism should be a key component of this pillar. We, Jews and non-Jews alike, deserve a U.N. that does not discriminate and cause harm. Instead, this council bows to anti-Semitism, under the guise of anti-Israelism, and enables it. If this body is to have any relevance for promoting genuine peace and reconciliation, action is desperately needed now. This is the time to repeal the resolution.
Thank you, Mr. President.”
Click here to watch Sadoune present to the UNHRC (chapter 49).
