Hundreds of Jewish groups urge U.N. chief to nix anti-Israel inquiry

"Some 472 Jewish organizations wrote to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michele Bachelet demanding an end to the ‘one-sided farce’ of a probe by the UN Human Rights Council's International Commission of Inquiry (COI) into Israel. They also urged Guterres to ban the use of the recent Amnesty report in the COI. The appeal was signed by over 4,000 individuals, as well.

In letters from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the Jewish Federations of North America, the groups noted that that the COI, which was established by the Human Rights Council is designed to ‘provoke disproportionate criticism of Israel and to drive the commission it creates to conclude that Israel has violated international law.’

‘The Amnesty report traffics in false claims against the sole Jewish state, distorts international law, questions the very existence of Israel, and ignores the violence and terrorist assaults on Israeli civilians – Jewish, Muslim, and Christian. We are very concerned that this report will be positioned to influence the COI and lead to a review by the International Criminal Court of a democratic country in which multiple faith communities live under the rule of law, participate in civic life, contribute to the economy, and serve in the highest levels of government. Amnesty calling for the UN Security Council to impose a military embargo on Israel sends a clear message to this effect,’ the letter reads.

Additionally, the letter denounces the resolution for not naming Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that controls the Gaza Strip and which launched over 4,000 rockets from Gaza into Israeli city centers just last May, arguing that it encourages ‘commission members to determine that Israel is engaged in 'systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity.'‘

It also slammed the COI's open-ended mandate, which it says will provide an opportunity for nations to ‘engage in repeated denunciations of Israel at the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly.’

The COI's three members, according to the letter, also fail to meet the ‘fundamental requirement of impartiality.’

‘Navi Pillay, Christopher Dominic Sidoti and Miloon Kothari each have made public statements and engaged in activities that reflect a pre-existing and biased view of Israel,’ wrote the organizations.

CEO of the Conference of Presidents William Daroff called the probe a ‘one-sided farce’ that ‘again demonstrates the clear anti-Israel bias in the UN body.’

‘The Jewish and pro-Israel communities are unified in their abhorrence of the [COI] process and strongly urge United Nations leadership to ensure that the commission does not present a report that will unfairly criticize Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East,’ he said.

The JFNA letter further said, ‘It is disturbing – and dangerous – that the United Nations continues to exhibit bias against Israel.

In any one year, the General Assembly adopts numerous one-sided resolutions targeting Israel and only a miniscule number against any of the other member states for human rights violations.

‘The Human Rights Council focuses an astonishing 20% of its resolutions on Israel and maintains Israel as a permanent agenda item. Even with respect to the Security Council, United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield had noted ‘[Israelis] interpret the overwhelming focus on Israel in this body as a denial of Israel's right to exist and an unfair focus on this one country – and they are correct.

‘We call on you to use the moral authority of your high office to make a clear statement that it is unacceptable for UN institutions, including the Human Rights Council, to use their global platform to unfairly target Israel. Such inexcusable targeting undermines peace in the Middle East and contributes to a narrative that can foment antisemitic bias. In that spirit, we ask you to urge the Human Rights Council to terminate the Commission of Inquiry and make clear that the Amnesty report should not be used by the UN or its bodies to further unfairly attack Israel.’"