Last week, the United Nations marked its International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, a day created by the U.N. to further promote the continuing Palestinian narrative of victimhood and, of course, bash Israel. The date chosen for the international day—Nov. 29—was no accident. This was the date of the passage in 1947 of General Assembly resolution 181, which recommended partitioning the land into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jews accepted this plan and declared independence; the Arabs rejected it and, along with neighboring states, embarked on a war of annihilation against the newly independent Jewish state. Israel beat back the invading Arab armies and the Zionist dream became a reality.
 
As a result of the fighting, many Arabs fled their homes and became refugees. An even greater number of Jews from Arab countries were expelled from places that had seen thriving Jewish communities for centuries (some of these communities went back to ancient times, preceding the Arab invasion of the North Africa). The Jewish refugees were absorbed by Israel while being completely ignored by the international community. The U.N. created a refugee agency—United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)—only for Palestinian refugees, who, unlike any other refugee population, can pass their refugee status on to their descendants. Billions of dollars (and euros) later, UNRWA now claims to serve over 5 million refugees.
 
After the Arabs lost the war they initiated in 1948, the Jordanians occupied an area known to Jews as Judea and Samaria (that the Jordanians later renamed the West Bank), along with eastern parts of Jerusalem (including the Old City); the Gaza Strip was occupied by Egypt. No Palestinian state was established during this time of Arab control over these lands. The Palestinians have also rejected multiple Israeli peace offers and walked away from the negotiating table at nearly every turn.
 
The Palestinians see Nov. 29 as a catastrophe, and so the U.N.—which does not even attempt to hide its own pro-Palestinian bias—has adopted this narrative.
 
At the international day commemoration by the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP), a U.N. body funded by our tax dollars to attack Israel, the president of the General Assembly wore a scarf with the kaffiyeh and a Palestinian flag on it. Not normal attire at the usually buttoned-up U.N. Beyond the odd choice of neckwear, the GA president also endorsed a right of return in his speech, a non-existent “right” which the Palestinians would like to exercise for all five million of their UNRWA-designated refugees to flood Israel. The deputy secretary-general of the organization talked of the U.N. General Assembly’s decision to upgrade the U.N. status of the Palestinians to non-member state in 2012 as a “historic milestone.” Neutrality goes out the window when there is an opportunity to parrot the Palestinian talking points. Is there another conflict situation where the diplomats behave like this? I have yet to encounter one.
 
And this was before the U.N. member states, whose pronouncements on Israel can be far more unhinged, had their chance to vilify and demonize the Jewish state at the CEIRPP session and a later GA session in which a number of condemnatory resolutions (including ones continuing the operation of CEIRPP and other costly Palestinian propaganda bodies embedded deep within the U.N. system) were passed.
 
Algeria complained, rather absurdly considering the importance of Jerusalem to the Jewish people, about the “increasing Judaization of Jerusalem.” Qatar decried the seven decades of occupation, meaning not only areas in dispute from Israel’s victory in the Six Day War of 1967, but Israel’s very existence from 1948. 
 
The vilest speech, though, at this year’s international day activities was delivered by Ecuador. Ecuador’s ambassador, quoting the recently-deceased former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro (who received not one, but two different moments of silence during the day’s proceedings), declared, after condemning the Holocaust, that there was nothing more similar to the Holocaust as the “genocide” committed against the Palestinian people.
 
This display of overt anti-Semitism from a U.N. platform was truly beyond the pale and B’nai B’rith has called on Ecuador to replace the ambassador. But the problem goes beyond the hate-filled words of certain diplomats. When the U.N. sacrifices historical truth and simply repeats and amplifies all manner of lies against Israel, the end result does not improve the lives of anyone in the Middle East. It only encourages more anti-Semitism.
 
Nov. 29 should be recognized for what it was, a date in which the international community voted to affirm the Jewish people’s right to self-determination in our homeland. The rejection by the Palestinians of that compromise (and all of the offers that came in later years) to live in peace next to a Jewish state has led to the current state of affairs. And there should be some recognition, finally, for the Jewish refugees that were violently pushed out of Arab countries throughout the Middle East.
 
If the international community is serious about a peaceful resolution to the conflict, then it is time to send the message to the Palestinians that if they want a state, they need to negotiate with Israel. It’s long past time to close down the Palestinian propaganda bodies at the U.N. and to end the incessant biased attacks against Israel. These are distractions that lead nowhere, but especially not toward peace. Without a change in direction by the international community, the Palestinians can look forward to many more years of ultimately meaningless speeches at the U.N. while more missed opportunities for peace continue to slip by.

You only have days left to determine whether you want to change or enroll in a Medicare Part D plan. In fact, there are only five days left. With less than a week, why would I bother talking about this on such short notice? While many have pointed to premium increases in 2017, an average of 4 percent according to Avalere, I caution you to look a little closer! By digging deeper, your wallet may be thanking you this time next year. 
 
For 2017 plans, the benefit of paying less for a monthly premium may not outweigh the annual cost of medications you depend upon. I urge you to take the time to visit Medicare online and learn more before you choose. If you stick with me, I’ll go into how you can access the Medicare Plan Finder on the Medicare.gov website. But, before I can do that, I want to explain the reason behind my concern.  If you had planned to default to your 2016 plan under the assumption a small change in your premium would be the only adjustment you’d make, you may be very disappointed.
 
Year-to-year costs of popular drugs are seeing major increases for the upcoming year, and Part D plans have changed the structure of their drug pricing in response. If you aren’t careful about picking a plan, or if you have added any medications this year, you could see jaw-dropping increases. For example, a co-pay for one single drug went from $7 to $350.
 
Several trends among insurers have made surprising shifts in cost sharing for beneficiaries possible. Some of the reasons you may be seeing this is because of:

• Tier shifting:  more and more sophisticated drugs, for which there is no generic, and shifting of generic drugs from lower, less expensive tiers to higher, more costly tiers.
• Plans are charging coinsurance: a percentage of the full cost of a drug instead of set co-pays which are flat rates like $20, $45, or $60 dollars for any drug on a specific tier.
• Pressure on Medicare to keep premiums down.

Now, I hope I haven’t lost you. For those of you who are reluctant to use your computer or device, I encourage you to utilize these steps (or, bribe one of your children or grandchildren to help out, the holidays ARE coming up). Sometimes the internet is there to help us out and, in this case, save you a whole lot of money.
 
Instructions for using the Medicare Plan Finder
 
Before starting, make a list of drugs you take. Then, access the Medicare Plan Finder by ​clicking here.
 
You’ll see prompts like the ones listed below:

• Step 1: Enter Your Information
  You can perform either a general or personalized search with your own information. A personalized search will allow you to enter your zip code, Medicare number, last name, and date of birth, while a general search will only require a zip code for plans offered in your area. You will also be able to enter whether you have a Medigap policy (aka Medicare Supplemental Insurance) or if you receive any help from Medicaid or SSI (which might make you eligible for extra discounts in Part D).
  
  
• Step 2: Enter Your Drugs
  Enter the list of drugs you have written down. You will be prompted to select the dosage, quantity, frequency, and whether you get your medicine from a retail or mail order pharmacy. Before entering, you will have the ability to select a lower cost generic for the drug if it is available.
  
  
• Step 3: Select Your Pharmacies
  You can select up to two.
  
  
• Step 4: Refine Your Plan Results
  You will be made aware of how many plans are available to you in your area, based upon the information entered. These plans can be narrowed down, dependent upon the type of coverage you need and the types of factors you’re looking for.
  
  

Once presented with the different plans, select each you’re interested in and compare. You can select up to three at a time. You want to make sure the results are sorted by lowest estimated annual retail drug cost. This will ensure the first plans you see offered have the lowest annual out-of-pocket expense, rather than just low premiums or low deductibles.  You need to know what your total spending for the year would be under each plan.
 
Additionally, on each of the plans, you will see “Lower Your Drug Costs.” Once selected, you will have an opportunity to select cheaper versions of the drugs you originally input based upon their projected annual cost.  (Only do this for drugs where you know you could take either.)
 
When comparing plans, you want to focus on the heading “Estimate of What YOU Will Pay for Drug Plan Premium and Drug Costs.” This amount is what should be used to compare to what you spent last year, and what you’re budgeting for this coming year.
 
When I performed this exercise, I entered medications for a variety of needs such as: lowering cholesterol and high blood pressure, treating Type II Diabetes, as well as an anti-depressant—all fairly common prescription medications. In each case, when comparing plans in my area, the cheapest premium did not correlate to the least amount paid for annual out-of-pocket. In fact, in nearly every comparison, the most expensive premium often was paired with an annual out-of-pocket expense several hundred dollars less than other plans with cheaper premiums.
 
More than ever, this year, it does not make sense to stay with the same plan as you selected last year without comparing.  And the best news is: it’s not too late! Enrollment is still open through Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016.  
 
AARP Medicare Resource Guide: Understanding Your Prescription Drug Coverage