Friday, December 22, 2017
Michael J. Knowles: There Is No ‘United Nations.’ So Let’s Stop Paying For It.
In 1975, the U.N. adopted the resolution, “Zionism is racism.” In 2011, the U.N. General Assembly held a moment of silence to honor North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il. In 2017, it condemned the United States for establishing an embassy in a member nation’s capital city. It wasn't always like this. During its founding period, the United Nations possessed greater moral clarity because it limited membership to countries that had declared war against the Axis powers in the Second World War. The modern U.N. bears no resemblance to that body.Daniel P. Moynihan (Feb. 1, 1981): “Joining the Jackals”
More than 20 years ago, former U.N. Ambassador John Bolton explained the relation between the United States and the United Nations with characteristic bluntness. “The League of Nations was a failure because the United States did not participate. The United Nations would be a failure if the United States did not participate,” he observed. “There is no United Nations. There is an international community that occasionally can be led by the only real power left in the world, and that’s the United States, when it suits our interest.”
The image of a United Nations that does not rely for its very survival on the goodwill of the United States is a dangerous fiction that empowers the worst actors on earth and conflates their vicious self-interest with American moral clarity. It’s time to defund the fantasy. When next the ingrate children leading U.N. member states desire our blood and treasure, as they constantly do, they can come to us and beg.
The chain of resolutions passed in condemnation of Israel by the Security Council in 1979-80 forms a complex story. Yet to follow it only a single point needs to be understood. It is that, as a direct result of American policy, the Security Council was allowed to degenerate to the condition of the General Assembly.
Under the UN Charter the General Assembly reaches decisions by majority vote, but its decisions are purely recommendatory (Article 10). By contrast, the Security Council has power. In situations where it determines that there is a “threat to the peace, breach of the peace, or act of aggression,” the Council “shall make recommendations, or decide what measures shall be taken. . . .” These include “such action by air, sea, or land forces as may be necessary. . . .” The Security Council, in a word, may make war. And for that reason the Security Council does not operate by majority vote. Any permanent member may veto any action, simply by voting No. However, in the face of the increasingly vicious Soviet-Arab assaults that followed Camp David, the United States began to abstain. I have represented the United States on the Security Council; I have served as President of the Security Council. I state as a matter of plain and universally understood fact that for the United States to abstain on a Security Council resolution concerning Israel is the equivalent of acquiescing.
The first abstention in the sequence we are now tracing occurred on March 22, 1979 when the Council, in a resolution directed against Israel, established a three-member commission “to examine the situation relating to establishments in the Arab territories occupied since 1967, including Jerusalem.” The phrasing here was ominous: “Arab territories . . . including Jerusalem.” Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. How could its capital be in the territory of others?
Equally ominous, although at this point restrained, was the reaffirmation of earlier Council statements that the Fourth Geneva Convention “is applicable to the Arab territories occupied by Israel since 1967, including Jerusalem” and the strict injunction upon Israel “as the occupying Power, to abide scrupulously by the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention.” Now, the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War is one of a series of treaties designed to codify the behavior of Nazi Germany and make such behavior criminal under international law. This particular convention applied to the Nazi practice of deporting or murdering vast numbers of persons in Western Poland—as at Auschwitz—and plans for settling the territory with Germans. The assertion that the Geneva Convention also applied to the West Bank played, of course, perfectly into the Soviet propaganda position that “Zionism is present-day fascism.”
On Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly voted 128-9 to condemn the United States for President Trump’s decision to relocate the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. They labeled the policy “null and void.” There were also 35 absentions. The nine countries voting no were the United States, Israel, Guatemala, Honduras, Togo, Micronesia, Palau, Nauru, and the Marshall Islands. The 35 abstentions were mainly centered in Eastern Europe. 21 countries didn’t bother voting.CNN’s Tapper: Many Countries Voting against U.S. on Jerusalem Have “Questionable Records”
The vote was hailed by the Left as evidence of . . . something. It’s really just the latest indicator that the United Nations is the Star Wars cantina of international politics — it would be difficult to find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. Here’s the breakdown on U.N. resolutions over the past few years, thanks to UN Watch:
OMG I can't believe the United Nations, that hive of scum and villainy, is condemning the US over recognizing Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem. It's not like they're rabid anti-Semites or anything. (Stats below courtesy of https://t.co/bQQDd2bcVo) pic.twitter.com/EagaKWrjh7
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) December 21, 2017
The United Nations was always a garbage idea — the very notion of countries where citizens have been reduced to eating dogs (Venezeula) or thrown in jail for dissent (Turkey) declaring American sovereign policy “null and void” with regard to reinforcing a historical and verifiable truth is insulting. The foreign community has zero control over our foreign policy, and particularly over our placement of our embassy.
Fortunately, we now have a list of countries to which President Trump can minimize funding — and we can reconsider giving money to the U.N. in the first place. U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who has officially been appointed Daily Wire spirit animal, said as much:
A number of countries supporting Thursday’s United Nations General Assembly vote against President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital have “questionable records of their own,” Jake Tapper said in a commentary during his show The Lead on CNN.Critics with questionable records condemn US
Tapper singled out critics such as Venezuela, Syria, Yemen and North Korea, all of whose citizens suffer from tyranny and war.
“The U.S. imperils global peace says the representative of Venezuela, a country in a humanitarian disaster,” Tapper observed. After noting that Venezuelans are suffering from widespread hunger, Tapper asked, “On what moral platform does the government of Venezuela stand today?”
Tapper also rejected criticism of the U.S. position on Jerusalem from Syria noting, “We’re in the seventh year of the brutal Syrian civil war that’s killed half a million people and displaced millions. Syrian President Bashar al Assad has used chemical weapons against his own citizens including children.”
Yemen, which along with Turkey drafted the resolution criticizing the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem, is “seemingly more focused at least during the speech on where the U.S. puts it’s embassy on Israel than on the 7 million Yemenis on the brink of starvation in that country’s civil war,” Tapper said.
Gutfeld on Nikki Haley's tough U.N. talk
Anne Bayefsky: Nikki Haley Nailed It: President Trump, Make the UN Pay
For decades, the United Nations has spit in the face of the United States. The demonization of the Jewish state – modern antisemitism – has been one of many UN policy priorities totally antithetical to American values and interests.Ron Prosor: Israel's efforts are paying off
The General Assembly vote on December 21 condemning President Donald Trump’s implementation of American law recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel ought to be the last time America takes it lying down.
Let’s be clear about how we got here. Thursday’s meeting was the seventeenth time the UN General Assembly has convened the so-called “tenth” emergency special session on Israel since 1997. That’s because the “tenth” session is effectively permanent. At the end of the meeting, the President of the General Assembly stressed that the session was merely “adjourned.”
What such UN-eze means for real people is this: There has never been an emergency special session of the General Assembly on anything but Israel-bashing in twenty years. 500,000-plus dead and seven million displaced in Syria over seven years – and not one emergency special session. Neither a million dead in Rwanda, nor two million dead over two decades in Sudan, ever prompted a single emergency special session.
The issue Thursday was not about Jerusalem. It was about Jew-hatred. The resolution is the General Assembly’s twenty-first resolution in 2017 slamming Israel for violating “rights” and “law.” There was one resolution on North Korea. One on Iran. And one on the United States – criticizing U.S. Cuba policy. Altogether, there were nine resolutions critical of human rights records in specific states in the rest of the world combined.
The bastards changed the rules – and this time they gave advance notice. U.S. President Donald Trump took the type of diplomatic relations that are usually dealt with under the radar and brought them out into the light when he announced he would be personally noting the U.N. vote declaring his Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital "null and void."Six Anti-Israel Outrages Inside the U.N. Resolution Opposing Trump’s Jerusalem Recognition
After being warned there would be consequences to their vote, many countries were forced to rethink their plan of action. As a result of this recalibration, 21 ambassadors never even made it to the vote, apparently having gotten lost on their way to the U.N. headquarters in New York. Other did make it to the U.N., but they were unwilling to stand up to the United States and Israel on Jerusalem.
When U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said the United States sees its payments to the U.N. as an investment for which it expects a bigger return, her statement echoed far beyond Manhattan's First Avenue. The Trump administration has already announced plans to cut foreign aid by 30% in the coming years. Over 180 countries currently enjoy some form of American aid, whether financial, defense or diplomatic. I would not be surprised if Thursday's vote made the decision where exactly to cut aid that much easier.
If under President Theodore Roosevelt, U.S. foreign policy could be surmised as "speak softly, and carry a big stick," then Trump appears to believe that the U.S. should talk tough and wave an even bigger stick. Quite a few countries have internalized the message and acted accordingly.
But the results of the vote are not just the result of America "taking names," but also the result of Israel's foreign policy in recent years.
The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday passed an anti-Israel resolution clearly intended to rescind President Donald Trump’s historic recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in a speech earlier this month.Time for Trump to slow-cook the turkeys of Turtle Bay
Today’s nonbinding resolution came after the U.S. on Monday vetoed what would have been a binding United Nations Security Council resolution seeking to reaffirm Jerusalem’s status as unresolved. The U.S. does not have veto power at the General Assembly.
Below are six anti-Israel outrages inside the brief UN resolution, presented in the order in which the statements appear within the resolution text:
1 – The resolution wrongly implies that Israel’s ties to Jerusalem come from “the acquisition of territory by force.”
The resolution reaffirms “the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force,” falsely implying that Israel went to war to acquire the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. The statement also misleadingly implies that Israel’s only connection and claim to those areas come from the “acquisition of territory by force.”
The West Bank contains ancient Jewish cities such as Hebron, Beit El, Shiloh and more. It houses the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs, Joseph’s Tomb and Rachel’s tomb, some of the holiest sites in Judaism. Eastern Jerusalem includes Judaism’s holiest site – the Temple Mount – as well as the Old City.
Jews maintained a historic presence in Jerusalem, including in the eastern sections, until they were forced to leave the Old City en masse in 1948 and eastern Jerusalem fell under illegal Jordanian occupation.
2 – The resolution misleadingly implies Trump’s Jerusalem recognition interferes with final-status negotiations.
The text stresses “that Jerusalem is a final status issue to be resolved through negotiations in line with relevant United Nations resolutions.” The resolution does not explain how Trump’s Jerusalem recognition in any way impedes future final-status negotiations.
3 – The resolution seems to be telling the U.S. where it should locate its embassy.
The text expresses “deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem,” and “calls upon all States to refrain from the establishment of diplomatic missions in the Holy City of Jerusalem.”
As a sovereign nation, the U.S. should be able to relocate its embassy to any city with approval of the host nation. Trump further explained in his recognition speech, “Israel is a sovereign nation with the right like every other sovereign nation to determine its own capital. Acknowledging this as a fact is a necessary condition for achieving peace.”
4 – The resolution ignores illegal Palestinian construction that has already altered the status of Jerusalem while implying that Trump’s Jerusalem recognition alters the city’s status.
Implicitly referring to Trump’s Jerusalem recognition, the text states that “decisions and actions which purport to have altered, the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect.” As explained in #3, Trump’s announcement does not alter the status of Jerusalem.
5 – Today’s resolution ignores the U.N.’s own binding resolution. which allows for Israel to retain some of the so-called pre-1967 territories.
Today’s resolution expressly calls for “an end to the Israeli occupation that began in 1967” – meaning full Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem. Israel already unilaterally evacuated the Gaza Strip, resulting in a disastrous outcome in which a terrorist organization has assumed full control.
Today’s text leaves out the intent of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, the binding resolution pertaining to the West Bank, which calls on Israel to withdraw under a future final-status solution “from territories occupied” as a result of the 1967 Six Day War. Resolution 242 does not call for a withdrawal from “all territories,” a designation deliberately left out to ensure Israel’s ability to retain some territory for security purposes under a future deal.
6 – The text outrageously calls for a “just and lasting peace in the Middle East” partly based on the so-called Arab Peace Initiative, which actually threatens Israel.
The text advocates a “just and lasting peace in the Middle East on the basis of the relevant United Nations resolutions, the Madrid terms of reference, including the principle of land for peace, the Arab Peace Initiative.”
At the United Nations headquarters in New York, President Trump is engaged in a standoff with a deeply entrenched political class.NY DailyNews Ed: UN Attacks America over Jerusalem
Yet, it is the president who has the initiative.
In aggressively challenging the U.N.'s condemnation of his decision to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Trump has the massive leverage created by the $10 billion Washington gives to the U.N. each year.
He who pays the piper calls the tune. That's the big picture. But you get still more from the details, so let's dig in.
As the Council on Foreign Relations reports, the U.S. is responsible for nearly 40 percent of the U.N.'s refugee agency, 35 percent of the World Food Programme's total budget, and more than 30 percent of the International Organization for Migration. It provides over $2 billion a year to the U.N.'s peacekeeping budget excluding the massive cost of American military security guarantees, and 22 percent of the U.N.'s operating budget.
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley stood tall at the podium before the Parliament of Man and rejected the United Nations General Assembly’s descent into the insanity of mob rule on a vote that absurdly labeled “null and void” the Trump administration’s correct decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and place the American embassy there.UN Passes Resolution Condemning U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley (satire)
Not satisfied with the evil anti-Semitism of using Israel, the world’s only Jewish state, as the perennial whipping boy, the UN pack has turned on America.
America, home to the United Nations, which was founded by an American President amid humanity’s worst war. America, the largest funder of the UN and largest funder of foreign aid in the world. America, home to the universal democratic values of equality and liberty that all claim to aspire to.
Insanity indeed. The two-thirds of the body that supported this act encompassed some of the world’s most despicable regimes, from Iran to Venezuela to North Korea, for a cause that also suckered countries that should know better, like Britain, France, Germany and Japan.
High praise to Canada, Mexico, Australia and Argentina, among others, for refusing to go along. And also the Poles, Czechs, Romanians and Hungarians. Having suffered decades of Soviet tyranny, they know the difference between lies and truth.
But of the 193 nations represented, it fell to Israel and America to tell two truths. Israeli Ambassador Danny Danon reminded all that Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel since King David’s time 3,000 years ago. Haley told the delegates that the decisions of the United States are for the United States to judge, not the UN.
Earlier this week, the UN general assembly passed a non-binding resolution condemning US Ambassador Nikki Haley as a “Debbie Downer”.Raphael Ahren: Why Israel’s massive defeat at the UN isn’t quite as bad as it looks
In interviews with The Mideast Beast, several delegations to the United Nations have complained that the new US Ambassador to the UN is really bringing the mood down with all the talk of “being fair to Israel” and “addressing rampant human rights violations in the Middle East”
The Syrian Ambassador to the UN explained: “When Samantha Powers first came in, we were worried she might make trouble, after all, she wrote a whole book explaining how Democracies and NGOs let genocide happen; but as soon as she realized she was going to be part of the problem, things loosened up. But now we’ve got this Haley chick and the shit’s gotten real.”
The Saudi representative to the Human Rights Council sounded exasperated when asked about Haley: “Yeesh, Israel this, Israel that, this Haley woman keeps going on and on about how “unfair” we are to Israel, like what? She expects us to condemn ourselves for Human Rights violations?” and just shook his head saying, “this is what happens when you let women out of the house”. The Venezuelan Ambassador to the council expressed similar frustrations saying that Ambassador Haley was trying to divert the council to matters of Human Rights in the world. “For f#ck’s sake, that’s just not what the UN is for.”
On the upside, Netanyahu, who is also foreign minister, succeeded in breaking European consensus on the matter.Almost all major recipients of US aid ignored White House threat on UN vote
On foreign policy issues, European Union states like to take common positions, and the EU’s vehement rejection of Trump’s Jerusalem move has been well-established. Still, Hungary (where Netanyahu visited in July), Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia abstained.
Most African countries traditionally side with the Palestinians, but Togo voted no, and Rwanda, Malawi, Uganda, Lesotho, Equatorial Guinea and South Sudan abstained. Kenya was absent.
What is behind these successes?
Netanyahu’s concerted effort to expand Israel’s foreign relations beyond its traditional allies, with a renewed focus on Africa, Central Europe and Latin America, evidently played a role.
But Antigua and Barbuda abstaining and Mongolia being absent might also have something to do with the US administration’s caution that it could cut aid to countries daring to support the resolution. Minutes before the vote, US Ambassador Nikki Haley — who had said on Tuesday that the US would be “taking names” when the resolution came up — once again warned that Washington will “remember” how countries voted on the matter.
Ahead of a dramatic vote at the United Nations on Thursday, the United States made an unprecedented threat to fellow members of the international community: those who vote against US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital risk diplomatic retaliation and losing American financial aid.
But when the dust settled, the biggest recipients of American aid — most of them Muslim or Arab countries — rejected the threat, leaving the White House facing a tricky dilemma as it plots a course forward for the Middle East. Key Arab allies, led by Saudi Arabia, all banded together against the US.
Yet for Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, there were some bright spots in the lopsided vote. Some influential countries, mostly African and Latin American countries courted by Israel in recent years, stepped back from past support for the Palestinians by abstaining or skipping the vote altogether. Still, two of Netanyahu’s biggest targets, China and India, came down solidly in favor of the Palestinians.
These mixed trends could allow each side to claim a victory of sorts.
Michael J. Totten: Islamic Governments Cede West Jerusalem to Israel
He has never agreed to peace terms with Israel, though, nor is he even open to serious peace talks, because a huge number of Palestinians—especially the armed total rejectionists in Hamas—would brand him a traitor. The dream, the fantasy, of destroying Israel hasn’t died yet. The notion that the so-called Zionist Entity is an ultimately temporary imposition remains all-too powerful in the Palestinian national narrative. Peace is not yet nigh, and Mahmoud Abbas knows it.PM slams UN's Jerusalem vote as 'theater of the absurd'
Even the two-staters would blow a gasket if Abbas were to sign a peace treaty and concede what the Israelis would force him to concede—no “right of return” for Palestinian “refugees” who have never even set foot in Israel, the West Bank, or Gaza; and Jewish sovereignty over the Western Wall. Odds are high that Abbas would be killed or driven into exile and that yet another war between the Israelis and Palestinians would break out soon after.
Israel’s permanence needs to be part of the story Palestinians tell themselves about their place in the world and in history, and right now, it’s not, at least not among enough of them. The Palestinians, as a whole, aren’t likely to be honest with themselves about this before the wider Islamic world is honest about it first and pressures them to say yes and build the sovereign state that is actually possible rather than continue to pine and sometimes fight for a castle in the air.
Most of the Arab states have quietly set the conflict aside, but they’re afraid to speak truth to the Palestinians, afraid to be branded betrayers, afraid to risk popular wrath and go the way of Egypt’s assassinated Anwar Sadat, afraid to apply the kind of pressure on Palestinian negotiators that ultimately will be necessary. In an alternate universe, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a post-Soviet-style frozen conflict, but in this one, the Syrian and Iranian regimes keep poking it with a stick by funneling guns, money and even missiles to terrorist armies like Hamas and Hezbollah.
That’s why it matters that the OIC just implicitly recognized West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. They didn’t say it in a way that will get them in trouble back home, but the likes of Hamas and Hezbollah absolutely took note that the OIC thinks only East Jerusalem, and not the whole thing, belongs to the Palestinians. They would not have done this had the United States not done it first. It’s a small step, sure, so don’t go popping any champagne corks just yet, but it’s still a step.
Israel on Thursday lambasted a U.N. General Assembly vote declaring U.S. President Donald Trump's Dec. 6 recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as "null and void," calling it "preposterous."'Palestinians can have the UN resolution - we have Jerusalem'
In Thursday's vote, 128 nations voted in favor of a resolution demanding the U.S. rescind its declaration, with nine members voting against it and 35 nations abstaining. Twenty-one nations were absent from the vote.
"Israel completely rejects this preposterous resolution. Jerusalem is our capital. Always was, always will be. But I do appreciate the fact that a growing number of countries refused to participate in this theater of the absurd," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
"I appreciate that, and especially I want to again express our thanks to President Trump and Ambassador [Nikki] Haley, for their stalwart defense of Israel and their stalwart defense of the truth," he said in a statement issued on Thursday evening.
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid also denounced the U.N.'s vote.
"The U.N. lost its last shred of dignity today. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, it always was and it always will be. No hypocritical vote will change that. The decision that was taken today will be wiped from the pages of history," he tweeted.
"I'm saddened to see our European friends bow to pressure and stand alongside supporters of terror and mass murder instead of standing beside the only true democracy in the Middle East."
Israel's Internal Security Minister Gilad Erdan (Likud) mocked a largely symbolic anti-Israel vote denouncing America’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, which passed the United Nations General Assembly by a margin of 128 to 9, with 35 abstentions.Moti Kedar presents an ancient Islamic coin with the Menorah symbol
"The historic connection between Israel and Jerusalem is stronger than any vote by the ‘United Nations’- nations who are united only by their fear and their refusal to recognize the simple truth that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and the Jewish people,” said Erdan.
The US, Israel and seven other member states voted against the resolution, including Guatemala, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, and Togo.
“While the US has recognized this simple truth, the UN has chosen once again to resort to lies and to ignore the reality that has existed for 70 years.”
‘Shame on U(N):’ Right and Left come out against Jerusalem decision
‘Shame on U(N):’ Right and Left come out against decision against JerusalemUS Legislators, Pro-Israel Groups Denounce ‘Shameful’ UN General Assembly Resolution Attacking Jerusalem Recognition
Politicians from across the political spectrum came out against the United Nations vote Thursday condemning the United States for committing to moving its embassy to Jerusalem.
“Shame on U(N),” Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein tweeted.
Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman wrote on Facebook that “we should remember this is the UN about which our first ambassador to the UN Abba Eban once said: ‘If Algeria introduced a resolution declaring that the Earth was flat and that Israel had flattened it, it would pass by a vote of 164 to 13 with 26 abstentions.’”
“There’s nothing new in the UN,” Liberman added. “It’s good that the US is the lighthouse of morality, a light in the darkness.”
Education Minister Naftali Bennett called it “another empty vote by the UN.”
“President [Donald] Trump’s statement did not create a new reality, it didn’t change facts on the ground. The president spoke truth to the Palestinians. There can never be peace predicated on the division of Jerusalem. It won’t happen. Jerusalem has been the Jewish capital for 3,000 years, and now truth is spoken out loud,” Bennett said in a briefing to foreign diplomats ahead of the vote.
Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid said “the UN lost its dignity today. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, always was and always will be. No hypocritical vote will change that. The decision made today will be erased from the pages of history.”
US legislators and pro-Israel organizations roundly condemned Thursday’s vote at the United Nations opposing President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as the Jewish state’s capital.US invites nations that abstained or rejected UN vote to reception
In the House of Representatives, Republican lawmakers led by Colorado Rep. Doug Lamborn submitted a resolution that expressed “strong disapproval” of the General Assembly vote. One of the measures incorporated into the resolution called on “the President to direct the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a report on the status of United States assistance provided to countries that voted in favor” at the UN.
“This vote today at the United Nations is yet another example of the general assembly’s anti-Israel nature,” Lamborn — who introduced the House resolution with Reps. Peter Roskam, Lee Zeldin, Kevin Cramer, Ron DeSantis and Jeff Duncan — said in a statement. “It is also an attack on America’s right as a sovereign nation to place our embassies where we choose, and to recognize the reality of capital cities around the world … American generosity will not be taken advantage of and our friendship will not be taken for granted.”
Several Jewish and pro-Israel groups issued statements criticizing the UN vote.
Stephen M. Greenberg and Malcolm Hoenlein, the chairman and the executive vice chairman/CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said, “The shameful one-sided, anti-Israel UN General Assembly resolution adopted today is another stain on the United Nations that willfully disregards historic facts, distorts the present day reality and reinforces Palestinian resistance to negotiations with Israel.”
Pastor John Hagee, the founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), said, “We applaud Ambassador Nikki Haley for her commitment to enforce consequences upon those who failed to stand with Israel and America today.”
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley on Thursday invited representatives from nations which did not support the General Assembly vote rejecting US recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital to a January 3 reception.‘Several countries’ in talks with Israel on moving embassies, PM says
In an email obtained by Fox News, Haley invited those 65 countries “to a reception to thank you for your friendship to the United States.”
The General Assembly passed the resolution condemning US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, with 128s nation in favor, nine voting against, 35 abstaining and 21 no-shows.
In a tweet, Haley thanked “these countries for not falling to the irresponsible ways of the @UN,” and posted a list of the 65 countries who did not support the resolution.
Israel is in contact with several countries “seriously considering” following in the footsteps of the US, recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving their embassies to Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN in an interview broadcast Friday.'Israel is an inspiration'
“We’re now talking to several countries who are seriously considering saying exactly the same thing as the United States and moving their embassies to Jerusalem,” he said.
Asked to name the countries in question, Netanyahu demurred. “I could tell you that but I won’t because I want it to succeed, and I think there’s a good chance it will.”
Asked about the significance of US President Donald Trump’s declaration on December 6, Netanyahu said, “I think what it does is finally recognize a historical truth.
“Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel for 3,000 years from the time of King David. It has been the capital of the state of Israel for 70 years, and it’s about time that the United States said — and I’m glad they said it — ‘This is the capital and we recognize it,’ and I think that’s going to be followed by other countries.”
The international backlash surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement earlier this month officially recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital caught Czech President Milos Zeman in the midst of his own domestic tumult: Next month, he will vie for reelection in the country's presidential election. The veteran politician, 73, has headed the Czech Republic at one of the most unstable periods in the country's history since the fall of communism.Romania parliament head calls to ‘seriously consider’ Jerusalem embassy move
Zeman, the third president of the Czech Republic since the fall of the communist regime, was the first president to be elected directly by the voting public. But a recent political upheaval in his country puts his reelection into question. And still, amid all the political turmoil, Zeman took the time to vocally support the American president and explicitly declare his intent to relocate the Czech Embassy in Israel from its current location in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, following the American lead. This declaration elicited immediate criticism from the newly elected prime minister – former businessman Andrej Babis.
In an interview with Israel Hayom, Zeman explained that he has already instructed the new Czech government to begin preparing the relocation of the embassy.
"It was my pleasure to publicly support the decision of U.S. President Donald Trump, who acknowledged Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the launch of necessary steps to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv," Zeman said. (h/t Think of England)
The head of Romania’s parliament, Liviu Dragnea, said Friday the European nation should “seriously consider” moving its embassy to Jerusalem, following in the footsteps of the United States.IsraellyCool: WATCH: Why Micronesia Votes for Israel
“I think Romania should seriously consider moving its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. We should think about it very seriously,” he told reporters, according to The Romania Journal.
He cited “practical matters” in his opinion. “All Israeli central institutions are in Jerusalem and the ambassadors and the embassy’s staff are commuting from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.”
Dragnea’s statement came a day after the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution condemning the Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and calling on countries not to move their diplomatic missions to the city.
A total of 128 countries voted in favor of the text, with 9 voting against.
Romania broke European Union consensus on the vote by abstaining, along with 34 other countries.
Yesterday, a “lopsided majority” of UN members rebuked the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, with a vote of 128 to 9, with 35 abstentions.
As usual, those opposing the anti-Israel resolution included Micronesia.
Which begs the question: why does this Pacific island continue to support Israel, time and again?
Believe it or not, it all stems from soccer. I kid you not.
New York Times Advocates in Report on UN Jerusalem Vote
Judging by the way the New York Times covered today's United Nations vote about Jerusalem, it would seem the outcome in favor of the resolution was an astounding rarity.2 Palestinian protesters killed in Gaza as thousands riot for 3rd straight week
In the first paragraph of the newspaper's story on the vote, reporter Rick Gladstone called the General Assembly resolution "a stinging rebuke to the United States." In the second paragraph, it was "a collective act of defiance toward Washington." In paragraph three, the lopsided vote was no less than a sign that "the Trump administration's decision to defy a 50-year international consensus on Jerusalem's status has unsettled world politics and contributed to America's diplomatic isolation."
"Stinging" might be an objective fact in an article about bees, but not in a news story about the United Nations, where, as CNN's Jake Tapper pointed out, anti-Israeli politics are mundane and hypocrisy seems to be rampant. Indeed, in the long record of General Assembly votes related to Israel, the vote looked like more of the same, or even an erosion of the large majority that can typically be relied on to back pro-Palestinian resolutions.
Today's resolution repeated boilerplate UN language declaring any decisions that purport to alter the status of the city "null and void," while also alluding to the recent U.S. announcement that it intends to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israel's capital city. It passed by a majority of 128 to 9, with 35 countries abstaining and 21 absent from the vote.
The numbers are hardly as shocking as the Times introduction suggested. Every November, in fact, the UN's General Assembly votes for a resolution with largely similar language about Jerusalem. Last year, 149 countries were counted among the "yes" votes in favor of the annual "Jerusalem" resolution, 21 more than in this vote; 7 voted against; and only 8 abstained. In 2015, the Jerusalem vote was split 153-7-8. In 2014, it was 144-6-10, in 2013, 162-6-8, and in 2012, 162-7-6.
Two Palestinian protesters were reported killed during violent demonstrations along the Gaza Strip’s security fence on Friday, as thousands more took part in riots in the coastal enclave and across the West Bank for the third straight week following US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.Following UN vote, Hamas calls for ‘red bloody day’ in West Bank
“Zakaria al-Kafarneh, 24, died after being shot in the chest east of Jabaliya (in northern Gaza),” a Gaza health ministry spokesman said in a statement. There was no immediate information on the second person’s identity.
The army confirmed that live rounds had been fired at what it called “main instigators,” during the protest. “A hit was confirmed,” the army spokesperson said.
An Israeli border guard aims his weapon during clashes with Palestinian protesters north of Ramallah on December 22, 2017. (Abbas Momani/AFP)
The Gaza health ministry, which is run by terror group Hamas, said that five or six other Palestinian rioters were shot with live ammunition.
The protests along the Gaza security fence took place in three main locations: Jabaliya, Khan Younis and Gaza City.
According to the IDF, some 2,000 people took part in the protests, throwing rocks and rollings burning tires at the fence and the soldiers on the other side.
Hamas’s Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar, in a rare televised address on Thursday, called for Friday to be a “red bloody day,” following the day’s United Nations vote against US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.Malaysian PM leads protest in solidarity with Palestinians
Sinwar called on “the people of Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the Palestinians everywhere, to spring into action on Friday so it will be a red bloody day for the occupation,” he said in the speech, broadcast on Al-Aqsa Television.
“I call for turning Friday into a decisive day in the struggle of our people to bring down the decision of Trump,” he added, speaking before a crowd of Gazan youth.
Amid fears in the terror group’s ranks that violent Palestinian protests against Trump’s December 6 announcement were fading, Sinwar gave specific instructions to would-be attackers in an explicit bid to fan the flames in the West Bank.
He urged Palestinians in the West Bank to head towards places of contact with IDF forces and to attack the soldiers. He also urged attacked against Israeli civilians living in the West Bank.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak led thousands of Muslims in a rally Friday to show solidarity with Palestinians, slamming the US decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.Hezbollah's young adherents emboldened after US announcement on Jerusalem
Najib told the crowd that Malaysia will do all it can to “save Jerusalem” and that he will not be cowed by the US nor by his close ties with US President Donald Trump. Najib in September met Trump at the White House, and last month, posted a photograph of himself with Trump on Twitter on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Manila.
Malaysia on Thursday joined more than 120 countries voting in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution calling for the United States to drop its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, ignoring a threat by Trump to cut off financial aid to countries voting against his move.
“Yes, I have visited the White House and yes, Trump is a good acquaintance but I will not pawn the sanctity of Islam,” Najib said to loud cheers at the protest outside a mosque in the government capital of Putrajaya after Friday prayers.
Ali is six, and yet already he fiercely chants "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" at a rally alongside his family. It is a typical Beirut rally, organized by the Shia militia Hezbollah, to protest US President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
"At six, he is too old to not be here," his mother Fatima said as she pushed the stroller carrying Ali's baby brother, justifying her decision to bring her children to a political rally. She seemed unconcerned that his words were hate speech.
A Lebanese mother hands protest material to her toddler at a Hezbollah rally in Beirut following Trump's Jerusalem announcement
Fatima is a follower of Shia Islam and a Hezbollah supporter, like most of the thousands of people who had gathered in south Beirut's Dahiya district, Hezbollah's Shia-majority heartland.
The route of the march was a market street packed with men and women, all segregated on either side of the central reservation and walking to the soundtrack booming out from a television screen hanging from a flyover.
The screens subsequently relayed a speech from Hezbollah's leader, Hassan Nasrallah. "After victory in Syria and Iraq, we will focus on Israel," Nasrallah announced to a rapturous response.
Hamas official in a Nablus Rally: Trump a "Modern-Day Hulagu Khan" Who Gave Jerusalem to the "Descendants of Apes and Pigs." pic.twitter.com/yicDwziYlE
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) December 22, 2017
Analysis: Here's what Erdogan is doing in Jerusalem - and why
Few people have noticed that Trump’s historic decision to recognize Israeli sovereignty over all of Jerusalem coincided with the commemoration of a centenary since the Ottoman Turks ended their occupation of the holy city.Erdogan: World should teach U.S. a 'very good lesson' after Jerusalem move
On December 9 1917 Hussein el-Husseini, the mayor of Jerusalem, together with other local officials offered two soldiers of the British army the surrender of the city after the Turkish army left Jerusalem without setting up a fight.
The British soldiers, who were cooks and wanted to make breakfast for their commander, reportedly rejected the offer and made clear they just wanted some eggs for their chief.
The Turkish army, which had occupied Jerusalem for more than 400 years, never returned to Jerusalem but current Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan aspires to become the city’s sole patron and to restore Turkey’s influence on the Arabs in Israel and Jerusalem in particular.
His aspirations are part of his Ottoman complex and he doesn’t hide it.
During a meeting of his AKP party in 2016, Erdogan told the crowd to remember the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, when the Turks defeated the Byzantine Empire and went on to dominate much of the Middle East until Great Britain and France defeated the Ottoman Empire in 1919. During the same gathering he vowed to make Turkey “a great nation” and “a great power” again.
This is also the reason why Erdogan organized an emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation after US President Donald Trump announced the United States would move its embassy to Jerusalem and recognized Israeli sovereignty over the city.
Turkey told US President Donald Trump on Thursday he could not buy its support in a United Nations vote on Jerusalem, and said the world should teach the United States a "very good lesson" by resisting US pressure.Turkey's president 'launches legal bid to remove cartoon showing him having sex with Twitter's blue bird mascot from social media'
Trump has threatened to cut aid to countries that support a draft UN resolution calling for the United States to withdraw its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said in Ankara UN member states should not let their decision in Thursday's vote at the UN General Assembly be dictated by money.
"Mr. Trump, you cannot buy Turkey's democratic will with your dollars," he said. "The dollars will come back, but your will won't once it's sold. That is why your stance is important."
Trump's announcement two weeks ago that he was recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital broke with decades of US policy and international consensus that the city's status must be left to Israeli-Palestinian talks.
Last week, Erdogan hosted a special meeting of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, which condemned Trump's decision and called on the world to respond by recognizing East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
The president of Turkey has launched legal action to remove a Dutch cartoonist's picture of him having sex with the Twitter emblem, press in the Netherlands are reporting.
Political cartoonist Ruben Oppenheimer published the crude image - which depicts Mr Erdogan wearing underwear with an ISIS flag printed on them while having sex with the famous Twitter blue bird logo - on the social media site.
But this month, Mr Oppenheimer revealed that he was contacted by email about the court order by Twitter Legal.
He said: 'At first I thought it was spam. Until I opened the attached PDF file.
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