UN Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, November 24, 2014

On November 24, 2014 the United Nations held its annual Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. This was the 67th anniversary of the UN General Assembly resolution adopted November 29, 1947, which partitioned Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state - a resolution accepted by its Jewish inhabitants and rejected across the Arab world. The Palestinians call this day the 'Naqba', or 'catastrophe'. Yet, the real catastrophe is that 67 years after the adoption of the partition plan, the Palestinians have still not ceased the relentless attempt to eradicate the Jewish State.

The Setting

The meeting room was adorned with just two flags, the UN flag and a Palestinian flag. The flag of the UN member state of Israel was nowhere to be seen.


Speakers on the panel from left to right: Riyad Mansour, UN representative of the Palestinian Authority; Jens Anders Toyberg-Frandzen (Denmark), Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs; UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon; Fodé Seck (Senegal), Chair of the Chairman of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP); Gary Quinlan (Australia), President of the Security Council. Trusteeship Council Chamber, UN Headquarters, New York

The Speeches

Libelous accusations against Israel,intended to demonize the country, along with calls for Israel's economic strangulation, characterized the proceedings.

Palestinian UN representative Riyad Mansour, speaking on behalf of Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, accused Israel of "terrorism" and of constructing an "apartheid annexation wall".

Palitha Kohona (Sri Lanka), Chairman of the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories, urged economic isolation of Israel: "The special committee has urged the international community to transparently investigate the activities of companies in their respective country that profit from the exploitation of Israel in the West Bank..."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon equated Palestinian attacks against Israel, and Israeli acts of self-defense, stating "The mindless cycle of destruction must end..."

Ahmed Amin Fathalla (Egypt), speaking on behalf of Nabil Elaraby, Secretary General of the League of Arab States, said "Israel has flouted international law... Israel has unleashed war. It is a war of racism... The Israeli government has adopted a law to strengthen the Jewish essence of Israel...Israel has ... committed crimes and massacres, horrible massacres, of Palestinian people...These are crimes described as war crimes, as genocide..."

Golamhosein Dehghani (Iran), speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, accused Israel of "persistent illegal policies" and "called upon the international community and the International Criminal Court to investigate the crimes committed by Israel."

Mohsen Elias (Saudi Arabia) speaking on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), said there had been "crimes of war by Israel... the occupying power is continuing its racist policy..."

Participants unabashedly espoused the view that a Jew living on what is claimed to be Arab land is repugnant "Judaization:"

"the illegal actions and measures aimed at Judaization of East Jerusalem..." Riyad Mansour, (on behalf of Mahmoud Abbas)
"illegal steps to Judaizise East Jerusalem..." Ahmed Fathalla (UN representative of the Arab league), speaking on behalf of Nabil Elaraby, Secretary-General of the Arab League
"Israel seeks to continue its ... Judaization of historical Al Quds Al Sharif" Mohsen Elias (Saudi Arabia) speaking on behalf of the OIC

The Panels Displayed

The carefully orchestrated day also had other components. The UN event room prominently featured a set of six-foot high information panels.

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There was no mention of how the General Assembly's 1947 partition resolution was received - its acceptance by Jews and rejection by Arabs. In 1948 "The first Arab-Israeli war breaks out" - not that the Arab states started the war seeking to completely destroy the nascent state of Israel. The Arab attempts in 1967 and 1973 to erase Israel are merely described as "two wars".

None of this attempted annihilation of the UN member state of Israel was a "contravention of international law." The only so-called "contravention of international law" was "the building of Israeli settlements...after the 1967 war."

Settlements were built on "Occupied Palestinian Territory" - regardless of whether in law the territory's ownership is disputed and according to agreement to be decided by negotiations.

* * * * *

There is no mention of the 800,000 or more Jewish refugees expelled from Arab states after the creation of Israel.

Palestinian refugees "were uprooted." There was no mention that Arab inhabitants of historic Palestine were advised to leave by Arab organizations and states, pending the anticipated imminent destruction of Israel.

* * * * *

Suicide-bombing, murder of Israeli civilians at home, on buses, at worship, is called an "uprising" - and justified as responding to "Israeli occupation".

Public Exhibit

On November 24, 2014, an exhibit called "The Long Journey" displaying images from UNRWA's audiovisual archive, was opened in the public entrance of UN Headquarters.

The purpose of the exhibit was to "tell the story of a Palestinian heritage full of dignity and hardship." Missing from the exhibit:

any depiction of the 800,000 Jewish refugees expelled from Arab lands after Israel was established
any depiction of Palestinian terrorism against Israel
any acknowledgement that Arab states have discriminated against Palestinian refugees, refused them citizenship and social benefits, and perpetuated the Palestinian refugee issue as a political tool to be used to deny Israel legitimacy and to distract from their own human rights violations

Instead, the exhibit promoted the message of the suffering Palestinian innocents at Israeli hands absent any context.


The photo caption is an attempt to appropriates Jewish history, by falsely claiming the Palestinians suffered an "exodus."


The photo caption says Palestinians are "fleeing ... during the Arab-Israeli conflict of 1967," but erases the context of the war, in which the vastly outnumbered Israeli troops fought against the combined armed forces of Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Lebanon, all of which sought to annihilate Israel.

The exhibit makes clear UNRWA's warped priorities - instead of trying to curb Palestinian violence against Israelis during the first intifada, UNRWA expanded its "feeding programs" - programs required by the Palestinian aggression itself.

The exhibit displays an image of "Destruction, during the Second Intifada" in Gaza - but no images of the destruction in Israel or of the Palestinian suicide bombings throughout Israel in buses, cafes, schools, clubs and stores that killed over a thousand Israelis.

The exhibit omits the crucial context that it is the Assad regime and the Islamic State that assaulted and massacred the Yarmouk refugees, making Israel look responsible for Palestinian suffering caused by other Arabs and Muslims.

The UN General Assembly Debate: November 24-25, 2014

When the UN Committee on the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) was finished with its meeting, Solidarity Day moved to the General Assembly, where the Israel-bashing continued and six anti-Israel resolutions were adopted.

Here is a sampling of the demonization and delegitimization of Israel, the hate and antisemitism delivered via the UN platform - from where it is broadcast throughout the world:

Palestinian Authority:

"Israel pursued a scorched-earth policy, destroying homes and massacring civilians with vengeance, laying waste to entire communities and terrorizing the whole population... [G]ross human rights violations and breaches of international humanitarian law amounting to war crimes were committed by Israel...We reiterate the need for accountability for all of these Israeli crimes... raging violence, discrimination and virulent racism ... by Israeli extremists... Israel also continues ... committing acts of violence and terror against Palestinian civilians... the apartheid wall..."

Libya:

"[T]he Israeli entity ... is seeking to control all plots of land of historic Palestine so that Israel can expand and strengthen itself as a racist state where only Jews can live. Furthermore, we would remark the racist nature of Israeli entity which is being strengthened every day because of the laws of the occupying power and its practices in accordance with the Zionist doctrine that the General Assembly had declared a form of racism by its resolution 3379...illegitimate work to Judaize Al Quds... Jews now have over 95% of historic Palestinian territory... We in Libya invite the Palestinian Authority to accede to the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court as quickly as possible in order to ensure that those who have perpetrated grave crimes against the Palestinian people are duly judged..."

Syria:

"[T]he Israeli illegal entity is trying to asphyxiate us as Syrian citizens...Israeli aggression against Gaza, during which war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed... Israel has ... a black record of crimes against humanity and crimes of war..." "

Iran:

" [T]he criminal policies and abhorrent atrocities of this regime...the apartheid wall... [T]his regime is continuing and even intensifying its heinous crimes against oppressed, defenseless Palestinian people... [T]he Israeli regime... is the main sponsor of state terrorism... [I]ts long list of crimes and atrocities ... include, but is not limited to, occupation, aggression, militarism, state terrorism ... and crimes against humanity. "

Venezuela:

"Acts of state terrorism and war crimes perpetrated by the occupying force are liable for international prosecution... "

Cuba:

"Palestinian civilians were victims of the massacre that was carried out by Israel... [T]he systematic war crimes ... are causing immense suffering to the people of Palestine..."

Bolivia:

"Israeli...genocidal acts..."

Morocco:

"[T]here should be a limit to, an end to ... the Judaization of Jerusalem... [W]e condemn the Israeli project to Judaize Jerusalem..."

Saudi Arabia:

"[T]he law issued by the Israeli cabinet ... declares Israel as a Jewish nation. This is discrimination..."

The UN General Assembly Resolutions - November 25, 2014

The hate-mongering against the Jewish state by the the CEIRPP has specific concrete results. On November 18, 2014 the Committee transmitted four draft resolutions to the General Assembly that the GA rubber-stamped November 25, 2014. First and foremost these resolutions perpetuated the operations of the Committee itself and the vast UN secretariat apparatus for demonizing and delegimitizing Israel:

"Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People," A/RES/69/20:
"2. Requests the Committee to continue to exert all efforts to promote the realization of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination,...and to mobilize international support for and assistance to the Palestinian people,...
3. Also requests the Committee to continue to keep under review the situation relating to the question of Palestine and to report and make suggestions to the General Assembly, the Security Council or the Secretary-General, as appropriate;
4. Further requests the Committee to continue to extend its cooperation and support to Palestinian and other civil society organizations and to continue to involve additional civil society organizations and parliamentarians in its work in order to mobilize international solidarity and support for the Palestinian people..."

"Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People" was adopted by the General Assembly by vote of 94 votes in favor to 7 against (Australia, Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, United States of America), with 56 abstentions.
"Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat," A/RES/69/21:
" 2. Considers that, by providing substantive support to the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People in the implementation of its mandate, the Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat continues to make a most useful and constructive contribution to raising international awareness of the question of Palestine...
...
5. Also requests the Division, as part of the observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People on 29 November, to continue to organize, under the guidance of the Committee, an annual exhibit on Palestinian rights or a cultural event in cooperation with the Permanent Observer Mission of the State of Palestine to the United Nations, and encourages Member States to continue to give the widest support and publicity to the observance of the Day of Solidarity;..."
"Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat" was adopted by vote of 91 in favor to 7 against Australia, Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, United States of America), with 59 abstentions.
"Special information programme on the question of Palestine of the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat," A/RES/69/22:
" 2. Considers that the special information programme on the question of Palestine of the Department is very useful in raising the awareness of the international community concerning the question of Palestine...
3. Requests the Department, in full cooperation and coordination with the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, ...
(c)...to update, on a periodic basis, the public exhibit on the question of Palestine displayed in the General Assembly Building as well as at Unit ed Nations headquarters in Geneva and Vienna; ... (f) To continue to provide assistance to the Palestinian people in the field of media development..."
"Special information programme on the question of Palestine of the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat" was adopted by vote of 147 votes in favor to 7 against (Australia, Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, United States of America), with 9 abstentions (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Honduras, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Togo, Tonga, Vanuatu).
The grossly one-sided language of the resolution "Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine," A/RES/69/23, oblivious to Palestinian terrorism, includes such language as:
"Gravely concerned over ... acts of violence, vandalism and brutality committed against Palestinian civilians ..."
"Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine" was adopted by a vote of 148 in favor to 6 against (Canada, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, United States of America), with 8 abstentions (Australia, Cameroon, Honduras, Madagascar, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Tonga, Vanuatu)

A/RES/69/25

A/RES/69/24