Resolution 2334 and Potential Teachable Moments

"The United States, even as it seeks to counter UN Security Council Resolution 2334's flouting of international law and undermining of chances for Arab-Israeli peace, may yet be able to turn elements of the resolution to something positive.

The resolution, choreographed by the Obama Administration and passed with Obama's abstention, is a relatively short document long on anti-Israel hypocrisy and lies... The resolution calls for 'the Secretary-General to report to the Council every three months on the implementation of the provisions of the present resolution.' The Obama Administration and the nations that voted for the resolution clearly anticipated that these reports would consist entirely of a catalogue of any Israeli construction beyond the pre-1967 armistice lines as well as updates on the implementation of anti-Israel steps called for in the resolution.

But the United States can insist that these quarterly reports contain a comprehensive review of Palestinian 'provocation, incitement and destruction,' 'inflammatory rhetoric,' and supporting of rather than 'confronting of those engaged in terror' in the intervening months...

The Palestinian Authority praises terrorists who have stabbed, shot and otherwise slain Israelis, insists that they are to be emulated, names public institutions in their honor, financially supports terrorists and their families, and provides lucrative government positions to those who are released from Israeli jails...

[T]he quarterly reports called for in 2334 can be used by America's newly appointed United Nations ambassador, Nikki Haley, and her staff to important effect. They can insist on the reports' inclusion of a comprehensive catalogue of Palestinian incitement, provocation and promotion of and support for terror - a catalogue that can be measured against information gleaned from monitoring sources such as Palestinian Media Watch. They can in this way use their UN platform to bring into focus, finally, teachable truths that for far too long have been ignored and gone unlearned, thereby potentially helping address the major obstacle to genuine peace."