Letter from Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Orgs to U.N. Ambassadors re: anti-Israel "Commission of Inquiry"

"Dear Ambassador,

On behalf of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and other Jewish organizations, we urge your Government to reject the recent report (A/77/328) of the Commission of Inquiry established by the Human Rights Council as a result of a special session in resolution S-30/1 of May 27, 2021. The intent of resolution S-30/1 was to provoke disproportionate criticism of Israel and to drive the Commission it created to conclude that Israel violated international law – which, ignoring the most obvious facts, is precisely what the Commission has done in its report. The resolution did not name the terrorist organization “Hamas,” although, during its conflict with Israel in May 2021, Hamas indiscriminately attacked Israeli civilians with over 4,300 rockets and mortars fired from densely populated civilian areas, thereby also endangering Palestinian civilians. Consistent with this biased mandate, the Commission effectively ignored Hamas’s terrorist atrocities while directing its criticism only at Israel.

The OHCHR rules and guidance on commissions of inquiry and fact-finding missions clearly state that “members [of such commissions and missions] should, in all cases, have a proven record of independence and impartiality.” The three members of the Commission fail to meet these fundamental requirements. In fact, prior to and following their appointment as commissioners Navi Pillay, Christopher Dominic Sidoti, and Miloon Kothari each made public statements and engaged in activities that reflect a preexisting and biased view of Israel. The composition of the COI effectively guarantees that its resulting reports will lack credibility.

In July 2022, in a media interview, Mr. Kothari said: “I would go as far as to raise the question of why Israel is even a member of the United Nations.” Using alltoo-familiar antisemitic discourse, he also said: “We are very disheartened by the social media that is controlled largely by whether it’s the Jewish lobby or whether it’s by specific NGOs, a lot of money is being thrown in to trying to discredit us.” The Commission’s report condemns Israel for perpetuating an “unlawful occupation,” but totally ignores the historical circumstances that led to the current situation. It is an undeniable historical fact that, in 1967, Israel captured the West Bank, the Old City of Jerusalem, Gaza and the Golan Heights in response to existential threats and unprovoked attacks by neighboring Arab states, in a clear-cut case of self-defense.

Israel does not want to rule the Palestinians. Over the years, Israel has made several peace overtures toward the Palestinians, offering the establishment of an independent Palestinian state in the Gaza Strip and the bulk of the West Bank, with its capital in eastern Jerusalem, but the Palestinians have repeatedly declined to accept its offers. On September 22, 2022, Prime Minister Yair Lapid of Israel, addressing the UN General Assembly, reaffirmed Israel’s support of a two-state solution. Instead of meeting Israel’s extended hand, and just a day later, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas delivered an extreme speech claiming that Israel does not believe in peace, and therefore the Palestinians no longer have an Israeli partner for negotiations. It is Palestinian intransigence and extremism that are the main obstacles to the achievement of Israeli-Palestinian peace.

In light of the foregoing, we strongly urge your Government to condemn the Commission of Inquiry’s one-sided report and to support efforts to disband this malicious and illegitimate body."