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Sunday, October 29, 2017

UN to spend $32M to strengthen Palestinian "national identity," $18M to demonize Israel



The United Nations Development Assistance Framework and the Palestinian Authority have signed a “strategic programming framework” for 2018-2022. with a budget of over $1.2 billion to support the PA with a wide variety of political and social service programs.

For example, the 73-page document mentions "climate change" no less than 9 times as a topic that must be tackled - far more than "gender-based violence" (3 mentions.).

There is a lot to analyze in this document, but what seems most interesting is where the UN plans to spend the money.

Under the Strategic Priority 1: Supporting Palestine’s path to independence category, we have: Outcome 1.1: Human rights mechanisms are increasingly engaged to hold Israel accountable for its obligations under international law.

Its budget is $18 million. Its goal is to delegitimize Israel by demanding standards from Israel that the UN demands from no other state under the fig leaf of "human rights."

Here's the UN's description of this outcome:

The UN will increase its support for Palestinian institutions (state and non-government) and Palestinian victims of violations to effectively monitor, advocate and seek legal recourse for violations by the occupying power. This will include training, capacity-building and technical advice to ensure that Palestinian victims and institutions are equipped with the knowledge and tools to effectively access international accountability mechanisms in order to hold Israel accountable for its violations under international law. It will also aim to strengthen the capacity of Palestinian organizations to advocate effectively for the rights of Palestinians in the occupied territory. The UN will also strengthen its own advocacy on the impact of Israeli violations on Palestine’s development prospects, including through joint activities that clearly communicate the effect that the occupation and breaches of international law have on the ability of Palestine to develop economically, socially, environmentally and politically, including the responsibility of Israel vis-à-vis Palestine’s implementation of the SDGs.
Subtext: Israel is evil and the UN must do everything it can to ensure that Palestinians can use all methods to attack Israel through lawfare.

Possibly even more absurd is Outcome 1.2: A strong Palestinian national identity prevails, with a budget of $32.5M.

The UN's description:
The UN will continue to support the expression and maintenance of a strong Palestinian national and cultural identity. This will include communicating a positive Palestinian national narrative to strengthen cohesion and identity while reflecting respect for diversity and non-tolerance of violence. At the same time, the UN will support the protection and promotion of Palestinian cultural heritage as a key element of national and cultural identity. The UN will support efforts to preserve and protect the Palestinian character and identity of East Jerusalem, the future Palestinian capital pending final status negotiations.

Since the UN recognizes "Palestine" as a state, what purpose is served by the UN helping increase Palestinian national identity? Why is the UN in the business of helping any national identity, when the UN's own goals are to minimize the differences between states, not to emphasize them?

The UNDAFs for Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt don't mention "national identity" or "cultural identity" at all. 

The UN Charter says "Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the United Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state." What can possibly be a more domestic matter than strengthening national identity?

Why is it in the world's interest to strengthen Palestinian "national identity" unless the real purpose is to weaken Israel? And if the Palestinian national identity is so weak that it needs outside funding to strengthen it, then what does that say about the need for a Palestinian state altogether? Certainly Palestinian national identity is a comparatively recent development. Why does it deserve international support if not to be used as a weapon against Israel?

Of course, the last sentence shows the agenda. The UN wants to ensure that Israel has no rights over the sacred parts of Jerusalem. By declaring that Jerusalem is in fact the "future Palestinian capital" the UN is declaring a kind of war on Israel and Jews worldwide who have regarded Jerusalem as their capital since King David.

This is what the UN is spending its money on.

Any reasonable person should be outraged.






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