Prof. Anne Bayefsky: U.S. failed to inspire other countries to do the right thing

"Professor Anne Bayefsky, the President of the Human Rights Voices human rights organization, spoke to Arutz Sheva - Israel National News about the resolution passed today by the United Nations General Assembly calling for sanctions and an arms embargo against the State of Israel.

Prof. Bayefsky began, ‘The United Nations General Assembly has voted to repeat its infamous 1975 lie that the Jewish state is a racist state. The vote, on September 18, 2024, was 124 in favor, 14 against, and 43 abstentions. The United States voted against, albeit with enough caveats to make the American Ambassador from 1975, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, roll over in his grave.’

‘The racism canard, namely, that Jewish self-determination is criminal, has been at the heart of the battle to delegitimize a Jewish state for the majority of Israel’s history, starting as a Soviet-Arab initiative prior to 1967 and any so-called 'occupation,' she said.

‘When U.S. Ambassador Moynihan confronted the General Assembly over its 1975 resolution declaring Zionism to be a form of racism, he stood up unapologetically and said: 'The United States rises to declare before the General Assembly and before the world, that it does not acknowledge, it will not abide by, it will never acquiesce in this infamous act….[A] great evil has been loosed upon the world. The abomination of antisemitism…has been given the appearance of international sanction…What we have here is a lie…The lie is that Zionism is a form of racism. The overwhelmingly clear truth is that it is not.'

‘That was then,’ she said. ‘There followed 16 years of UN activities repeating the 'Zionism is racism' slander and promoting resolutions alleging an 'unholy alliance between South African racism and Zionism.' In 1991 the Zionism-is-racism resolution was revoked, but the lie was revived in the 2001 UN Durban Declaration that claimed that Palestinians were 'victims' of Israeli racism. This fabrication has been 'reaffirmed' every year since.’

She noted, ‘This past July, the UN’s International Court of Justice (ICJ) produced an 'Advisory Opinion' at the request of the General Assembly. Heralded as declaring Israel guilty of apartheid, the legal farce was presided over by a Lebanese politician and former UN ambassador dressed up as a judge.’

‘September 10, 2024 marked the first date that the UN-labeled 'State of Palestine' had the right to introduce a General Assembly resolution. It gleefully proceeded to produce an 8-page manifesto building on the ICJ outcome accusing Israel of apartheid, and demanding consequences, including boycotts, arms embargoes and criminal prosecution,’ she said.

Furthermore, ‘Ireland, who co-sponsored the resolution along with like-minded international 'law' and 'human rights' buffs North Korea and Yemen, spelled out exactly what the resolution means for the Oslo Accords, for decades of agreements between Palestinians and Israelis, and all the UN resolutions calling for negotiations. The trash heap.’

‘In the words of the Irish Ambassador: 'For those who have spoken today in favor of a negotiated settlement, the message is clear. We need action, not words.' By actions, he meant handing Palestinians the means to avoid recognition of a Jewish state.

According to Prof. Bayefsky, ‘The resolution’s supporters made the agenda perfectly plain: the destruction of the state of Israel and the reversal of the original General Assembly partition resolution of November 29, 1947.’

‘The Pakistani Ambassador spelled it out. Speaking on September 17, 2024, Ambassador Munir Akram claimed 'Palestine' had been subjected to 'decisions imposed by colonial and imperial powers' such as 'the Anglo-American decision to allow Jews persecuted by the Nazis to emigrate to Israel.' He called the partition resolution 'ignominious,' repeated that it was adopted 'by this Assembly despite the just Arab and Islamic opposition,' and referred to Israel as 'the illegal state' that had been 'foisted on the land of the Palestinians.'

She noted, ‘Sitting in the President’s chair of the General Assembly was Cameroon, concurrently leading the group of Islamic states at the UN. It was a family affair amongst scoundrels. Cameroon is a country ranked at the bottom of the Freedom House scale of political rights and civil liberties.’

‘With the Palestinian resolution on the table over the past two days, the General Assembly Hall was littered with moral abominations, blood libels, antisemitic tropes, and incitement to murder Jews,’ she said.

Outrageously, ‘Iran voiced its delight that so 'many…nations have found Palestinian resistance as an outstanding and admirable effort.' Libya announced that 'it won’t define resistance against occupation as terrorism;' Belize said that Palestinians 'have a right to armed struggle' against Israel. Egypt and Algeria referred to the rapists, torturers and baby-killers of October 7 as 'martyrs.' No Palestinian terrorists have been killed in this war, only '41,000 innocent civilians,' said Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates. There were also various portrayals of Israelis as Nazis, Libya talking about a '21st century Holocaust, the Holocaust of Gaza.' And celebrating the ICJ opinion were law-abiding world citizens like China, Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria and Yemen.’

‘In this environment, Harris-Biden UN ambassador Thomas-Greenfield groveled and debased the U.S.A.,’ Prof. Bayefsky accused. ‘She began by denouncing Israel. She said Israel was the one and only party whose actions she called 'inconsistent with international law.' She supported the goal to 'end Israeli settlements' – which violates the explicit terms of Oslo, includes Judaism’s holiest sites, and according to the resolution itself means the ethnic-cleansing of Jews living wherever Arabs say they can’t.’

Prof. Bayefsky added, ‘Incredibly, she chose this context to praise the ICJ: 'The United States also respects the important role of the International Court of Justice in advising the UN General Assembly and in helping peacefully settle disputes.'‘

‘She described 'the last few months as 'devastating for the Palestinian people. Families have endured hell in Gaza and the West Bank.' Nothing she could think of that was devastating or hellish for the Israeli people or families in Israel, and in America.

‘As she lamented various reasons why the resolution did 'little or nothing to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian civilians in Gaza,' here is what she didn’t do. She never condemned the despicable antisemitism in the resolution, or the statements of UN members, literally exploding all around her. She never spoke the clear truth that the resolution was an assault on human dignity and a deplorable denial of the fundamental right of Jewish self-determination. An assault initiated by a party – the Palestinian Authority – who needs to be unequivocally identified as Hamas’s UN diplomatic entourage,’ Prof. Bayefsky said.

‘In short, her behavior failed miserably to inspire other countries to do the right thing. Yes, the Biden-Harris administration voted against – with its tail between its legs,’ Prof. Bayefsky concluded."