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(Washington, D.C., May 27, 2021)--We condemn in the strongest terms the latest action by the United Nations Human Rights Council against Israel, which makes a mockery of the body’s very purpose.
The council held an emergency “special session” today to allege human rights violations during the recently intensified hostilities between Hamas and Israel—specifically those committed supposedly by Israelis, not against Israelis, during fighting in which Palestinian terrorists again indiscriminately attacked and upended the lives of millions of civilians. The council—notorious for already singling out Israel alone for scrutiny and censure under a permanent agenda item, and for far more resolutions condemning Israel than any other country—has now held nine special sessions on the Jewish state. Nearly one-third of all special sessions have thus focused on Israel. With a vote of 24 in favor, 9 against and 14 abstaining, the council adopted a resolution—principally sponsored by Pakistan on behalf of the bloc of Islamic states—establishing an “ongoing independent, international commission of inquiry” to probe rights violations before and since April 13, a date chosen to highlight Palestinians’ attributing of the recent hostilities to Israeli policing on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. In an extraordinary, widely unrecognized effort to preserve peace, Israel has long maintained Muslim administration of the Mount—Judaism’s single holiest site, but where the al-Aqsa Mosque is situated. Nonetheless, the compound has repeatedly been used to attack Israelis and for incendiary preaching against Jews. An alarming spate of intercommunal violence in Israel began with assaults against identifiable Jews, some recorded and promoted on social media, by Arab youth in Jerusalem. The Human Rights Council has established multiple commissions of inquiry to reaffirm prior condemnations of Israel by the body, in which Israel’s adversaries enjoy an automatic majority. Before the special session, B’nai B’rith wrote to member states to urge them to refuse to cosponsor or support today’s resolution. We strongly commend Austria, Bulgaria, Cameroon, the Czech Republic, Germany, Malawi, the Marshall Islands, the United Kingdom and Uruguay for their principled vote against the motion. “The arrogance and presumptuousness of today’s action are as predictable as they are damaging to the cause of human rights,” B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin said. “By obscenely blaming the victim, council members have rewarded the terrorism of Hamas, which is bad for Israelis, for Palestinians and for peace. They have again told terrorists that they can attack civilians from among civilians and actually win propaganda points from the international community. The council now seeks, on an ‘ongoing’ basis, to strengthen both unjust claims of discrimination inside Israel itself and dangerous Palestinian efforts to have counterterrorism hindered by the International Criminal Court.” “Today’s resolution urges states to ‘refrain from transferring arms’—presumably so that Israel cannot be defended—and does not even make mention of Hamas, the jihadist group that controls the Gaza Strip and is committed openly to Israel’s destruction. Rather than actually supporting a ceasefire, let alone pushing to disarm and dismantle Hamas, the council has incentivized more of its atrocities—which have included rockets falling on Palestinians and on delivery points for humanitarian aid.” In a statement submitted to the council, B’nai B’rith U.N. and Intercommunal Affairs Director David Michaels said, “Four thousand rockets fired at Israel from Gaza. Some claim Gaza is ‘occupied,’ but Israel completely withdrew from it over 15 years ago. Some complain about a blockade on Gaza, but imagine how much more destructive Hamas would be with no such measures.” “What country would accept the existential threats and violence that Israel endures? If terrorists attack France, the United States, Britain, Spain, India or Germany, the world unites in solidarity and support for defeating the terrorists… But when the targets are Israelis, in Jews’ sole ancestral homeland—the Middle East’s only democracy—this body focuses blame on Israel. Israel, which takes unparalleled steps to avoid civilian casualties.” Michaels concluded, “This council does not take interest when Israeli Jews are attacked, only when they respond. This council repeatedly signals that human rights apply to all but Israelis.” B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit bnaibrith.org. (Washington, D.C., June 22, 2020)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
B’nai B’rith International condemns the five anti-Israel resolutions adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), one on June 19th and the other four today. The UNHRC regularly singles out Israel by passing numerous resolutions that solely and falsely allege Israeli misdeeds. We again condemn the maintenance of agenda Item 7, which makes Israel the only country separately and exhaustively scrutinized at every council session. We wholeheartedly commend Australia for voting against each anti-Israel resolution, and the Marshall Islands for voting against four of the five resolutions. We encourage all member states to consistently vote against anti-Israel resolutions and to clearly endorse the elimination of the discriminatory agenda item. One of the five anti-Israel resolutions, entitled, “Ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem,” only mustered 22 votes in favor; more countries voted against or abstained. We are particularly outraged that a democracy such as Switzerland, even though it does not enjoy council membership, chose to be one of the main co-sponsors of the biased “ensuring accountability” resolution. B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit www.bnaibrith.org (Washington, D.C., June 16, 2020)-- B’nai B’rith representatives delivered two statements to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Tuesday, calling out the hypocrisy and anti-Israel bias of standing agenda Item 7, which is devoted exclusively to demonizing Israel. No other UN agenda item is exclusively devoted to one country.
B’nai B’rith representative Nurit Braun delivered a statement attacking the body’s unprecedented move of creating a blacklist of companies doing business with Israelis. View a video of her remarks or read a transcript here. “Threats against doing business with Israel are not new, and boycotts against ‘Jewish-owned’ businesses go back even further,” Braun said. “To those who vote in favor of economic warfare against the Jewish state, we say: We are not intimidated and we will not be defeated. Israel will continue to thrive economically, culturally and as a humane, diverse and democratic state.” B’nai B’rith representative Sonia Elkrief’s statement emphasized that, especially in the midst of the coronavirus crisis, it is unconscionable that the UNHRC continues to waste its time singling out Israel for unjust criticism instead of calling out actual human rights violators. Watch a video of her remarks or view a transcript of her statement here. “As the world is dealing with true emergency conditions, all of us are forced to sit through yet another of these sessions dedicated solely to bashing the only democracy in the Middle East, Israel,” Elkrief said. “Come natural disasters, wars and pandemics, Item 7 is always with us, at each and every regular session. This council never seems to want to miss an opportunity to obsessively attack the nation-state of the Jewish people.” B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit www.bnaibrith.org (Washington, D.C., Sept. 9, 2019)—B’nai B’rith International President Charles O. Kaufman and CEO Daniel S. Mariaschin have issued the following statement:
As an accredited nongovernmental organization at the United Nations, we deplore U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet’s biased statements today before the U.N. Human Rights Council. In remarks purportedly about global human rights, Bachelet devoted two paragraphs to denouncing Israel’s housing and security policies in the “occupied Palestinian territory.” Specifically, she baselessly alleged “very high levels of settler violence,” and “unlawful killings and injuries of Palestinians by Israeli security forces across the entire occupied territory,” without so much as referencing Palestinian terrorists’ ongoing attacks against innocent Israelis. Syria, which is in its eighth year of a bloody civil war and whose dictator has used chemical weapons against his own people, was mentioned once. Later, Bachelet delivered a further “update” devoted entirely to Israel. Once again ignoring both Hamas’s rockets and terror tunnels and the glorification of violence by the Palestinian Authority, Bachelet denounced Israel’s treatment of Palestinian rioters during what she referred to benignly as the Palestinian “Great March of Return.” Although she acknowledged that “a number of demonstrators” have hurled bombs into Israel and overrun Israel’s security fence, most of the statement’s text was devoted to attacking Israel for defending itself against the aggressors. The statement falsely described the “protests,” not at all peaceful in explicit purpose or in conduct, as “largely peaceful.” The U.N. Human Rights Council’s obsession with anti-Israel denunciations has gone far enough. Bachelet should retract her statements condemning the Middle East’s only liberal democracy for defending itself, and instead focus on the most urgent human rights crises around the world. B’nai B’rith International has advocated for global Jewry and championed the cause of human rights since 1843. B’nai B’rith is recognized as a vital voice in promoting Jewish unity and continuity, a staunch defender of the State of Israel, a tireless advocate on behalf of senior citizens and a leader in disaster relief. With a presence around the world, we are the Global Voice of the Jewish Community. Visit www.bnaibrith.org  B’nai B’rith International has issued the following statement:
B’nai B’rith International delivered a statement on March 23 at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), speaking under the biased anti-Israel item 7 to address the body’s just-deferred “Commission of Inquiry” report on Israel’s conflict with Hamas during the summer of 2014. B’nai B’rith representative to the U.N. in Geneva Klaus Netter normally speaks under UNHRC agenda item 4, under which all countries except Israel are considered, but instead spoke under item 7 as the commission’s conclusions had previously been expected to be released in that context. Netter admonished the council for the selection of an outspoken critic of Israel, William Schabas, as the chairman of the inquiry. Schabas resigned following the revelation that he had served as a paid consultant to the Palestine Liberation Organization. Netter explained: “We are speaking under this item, because we had expected that the report of the ‘Commission of Inquiry’ on last year’s conflict in and around Gaza would be submitted by today. Its submission was delayed on account of the most unusual resignation of the commission’s chairman, who had neglected to report his previous consultancy relationship with one of the parties to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Never in the council’s nine-year history—or indeed in the 60-year history of its predecessor [Human Rights] Commission—had such an embarrassment occurred. It should serve as a warning in future selections of commission members and special rapporteurs.” Netter concluded by putting the Palestinian-Israeli conflict into perspective in the broader context of unrest in the Middle East, highlighting the council’s obsession with Israel and its willful ignorance of the incomparable atrocities being committed in Syria: “The number of victims in all past Israel-Arab hostilities constitute a small portion of the 200,000 victims caused by the Syrian conflict next door, but this relationship is hardly reflected in the number of resolutions coming before the council this week.” A batch of rote anti-Israel motions and reports—more than those targeting any other country—are expected to be approved by the body, whose own members include serial rights violators. Image via Flickr  (Left to right) B'nai B'rith President Allan J. Jacobs, U.S. Ambassador Keith Harper, Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin, Director of United Nations and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels B’nai B’rith International sent its annual leadership delegation to Geneva to advocate on urgent issues facing the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), including the body’s just deferred “Commission of Inquiry” report on the Israel’s conflict with Hamas during the summer of 2014, the continuing abuse of the Jewish state more generally at the council, Iran's destructive domestic and regional policies, and the widespread unrest in the Middle East.
Some two-dozen B’nai B’rith International leaders and supporters, including with three representatives from the national Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), met with senior representatives from more than 40 countries. B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs and Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin led the delegation. The B’nai B’rith delegation expressed deep concern over the council’s “independent, international commission of inquiry” into Israel’s defensive operations in Gaza during the summer of 2014. Under the chairmanship of Canadian academic William Schabas there was a sense this report would highly biased against Israel. Schabas had previously suggested that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former President Shimon Peres (a Nobel peace prize laureate) should be brought before the International Criminal Court. Eight months into the commission’s “inquiry” it was revealed Schabas had served as a consultant to the Palestine Liberation Organization. Schabas resigned last month in the wake of that revelation and has since been replaced by former-U.S. judge Mary McGowan Davis. This week the council announced the report’s delay until the June session, but most of the “evidence” had already been compiled under Schabas’ chairmanship. We urged diplomats in Geneva to carefully scrutinize the report that is issued in June for any one-sidedness against Israel. “Every year B’nai B’rith leaders from around the world come to the Human Rights Council, and every year, sadly, it’s the same: an obsessive and outrageous focus on Israel that even the most deplorable regimes on Earth don’t receive,” Jacobs said. “It is our job to hold the U.N. accountable for this discrimination and hypocrisy.” More broadly, the delegation focused on “Item 7,” the standing agenda item scrutinizing Israel apart from all other countries, and how the actions of the United Nations and its agencies dampen prospects for peace by encouraging Palestinian unilateralism. The international community’s too-frequent disregard for terrorism against Israel —whether it be car attacks on light rail stations or rockets raining down from Gaza—was also emphasized in the meetings. “B’nai B’rith has been extremely vocal about the Human Rights Council’s “Commission of Inquiry” and especially about the chairmanship of William Schabas because of his record and that of the Human Rights Council on Israel,” Mariaschin said. “The deferral of the report until June bears watching, but we still remain wary of the outcome. In Geneva B’nai B’rith made sure to inform the international community that anything released that unfairly attacks the Jewish state is an unambiguous politicization of the council by Israel's non-democratic adversaries and should be rejected.” U.S. Ambassador, Officials Address B’nai B’rith Diplomatic Reception On March 11, B’nai B’rith leadership held its annual reception at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, hosting numerous ambassadors and other diplomatic officials. Highlights of the evening included remarks from U.S. Ambassador to the Human Rights Council Keith Harper, Israeli Deputy Permanent Representative Omer Caspi and Chief of Cabinet of the Director-General of the U.N. Offices in Geneva David Chikvaidze. On March 10, Jacobs and Mariaschin attended at dinner hosted by Harper in honor of Israeli Ambassador Eviatar Manor. In addition to Jacobs and Mariaschin, B’nai B’rith was represented by: Chair of the Executive Board of Directors Gary Saltzman of Denver, Colo.; Senior Vice President Ira Bartfield of Arlington, Va.; Senior Vice President Daniel Citone of Rome; B’nai B’rith Europe President Erika van Gelder of Amsterdam; Helene Briskman of London; Menahem Briskman of London; Eric Engelmayer of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg; Mike Gellman of Washington, D.C.; Jacques Jacubert of Paris; David Matas of Winnipeg, Canada; Irving Silver of Mobile, Ala.; Dan Tartakovski of Mexico City; and Stéphane Teicher of Paris. B’nai B’rith International’s Director of United Nations and Intercommunal Affairs David Michaels coordinated the visit in Geneva together with U.N. Affairs Program Officer Oren Drori, from New York. Supporting B’nai B’rith on the ground before and after the arrival of the delegation in Geneva were local B’nai B’rith representatives to the U.N. Klaus Netter, Armand Azoulai, Richard Sadoune, Zary Acher, and Anita Winter from Zurich. AEPi Executive Director and B’nai B’rith Board of Governors Member Andy Borans of Indianapolis, Ind., represented the fraternity, along with Civic Engagement Coordinator David Marias of Indianapolis and UC-Santa Cruz student Anthony Milgram. After Welcome Departure of Schabas, B'nai B'rith Demands Discontinuation of U.N. Gaza Probe2/3/2015
 B’nai B’rith International is pleased that William Schabas has quit his position as head of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) inquiry into Israel’s defensive operations in Gaza during the summer of 2014. The probe itself—tarnished from the start by the Council’s record of singular discrimination against Israel and its advance excoriation of the Jewish state—must be discontinued.
Schabas has been under fire since his appointment to head the “independent, international commission of inquiry” due to his prior, outspoken anti-Israel views. It also came to light recently that Schabas, a Canadian academic, was paid to provide legal advice to the Palestine Liberation Organization. Although Schabas says he is excusing himself to avoid overshadowing the results of the commission’s report expected in March, the probe’s “research” has reportedly already been completed. “This latest U.N. kangaroo court targeting the world’s only Jewish democracy was illegitimate from the beginning. It was cobbled together following a Human Rights Council resolution that blasted Israel before the commission even launched and didn’t so much as mention Hamas,” B’nai B’rith International President Allan J. Jacobs said. “This inquiry has always been stacked against Israel and Schabas’ resignation only reaffirms how corrupt it is.” Schabas’ bias against Israel has never been a secret. In 2013 he was quoted as saying, “my favorite would be [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu within the dock of the International Criminal Court.” “While we welcome the departure of William Schabas from the ‘commission of inquiry,’ his biased, anti-Israel attitude will undoubtedly be present throughout its findings,” B’nai B’rith International Executive Vice President Daniel S. Mariaschin said. “The inquiry was specifically designed not to focus on years of cross-border terrorist attacks against Israelis, but rather Israel’s defensive response to them. Whatever the Human Rights Council releases in March is likely to attempt to draw equivalence between terrorism and a state defending its civilians from that threat—an outrageous and unacceptable conclusion.” |
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