The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) ratified a resolution Oct. 18 denying the Jewish people’s deep historical ties to Jerusalem. While the resolution acknowledges the “importance of the Old City of Jerusalem and its walls for the three monotheistic religions,” the sacred hill is only referred to by its Islamic name, al-Aqsa Mosque/al-Haram al-Sharif. Not only does the resolution make no reference to its Jewish name, Temple Mount, which happens to be considered the holiest site in Judaism, but it distinctly puts quotation marks around “Western Wall Plaza,” a subtle attack on the legitimacy of its Jewish connection.
While the resolution is shameful, it should come as no surprise. What began as an international institution meant to promote peace and cooperation has instead become a vehicle for anti-American and anti-Zionist propaganda for many decades now. Rather than focus on legitimate human-rights violations around the globe, the U.N. has instead focused obsessively on Israel, the only Jewish state. Just to give an idea, the U.N. General Assembly’s 2015 session adopted 20 resolutions against Israel. Meanwhile Iran, North Korea and Syria received only one resolution apiece. The Syrian government alone is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Syrian citizens.
Not only has the U.N. turned a blind eye to violations of human rights, it has actually rewarded such behavior. Countries such as China, Cuba and Venezuela currently sit on the U.N. Human Rights Council, and until last month, it was chaired by none other than Saudi Arabia, a country that beheads its citizens in public for “crimes” like apostasy and adultery and is responsible for thousands of civilian deaths in Yemen.
While it may seem ironic that the very institution that voted for the conception of Israel now attempts to bully it into submission, the origins of such blatant corruption and bias begin with the Cold War. In 1955, the “non-aligned movement” was conceived to ensure “the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries” in their “struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics.” Since then, the U.N. has served as a mechanism for both anti-Americanism and anti-Zionism, which were viewed during the Cold War as two sides of the same Western, colonialist coin.
However, it seems the U.N. has not changed much since then. From the infamous Resolution 3379 of 1975 that determined that “Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination” to the most recent resolution erasing 2,000 years of Jewish history, the U.N. has wandered far from its mission, which was “to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small,” according to its U.N. charter.
Unfortunately, it appears the once-honorable institution has strayed very far from those principles. The U.N.’s unhealthy obsession with Israel reveals its deeper moral corruption and deterioration. Rather than engaging in conflict resolution and condemnation of human-rights violations, it has instead opted for scapegoating, propaganda and conflict perpetuation.
Julian Fleischman is a UF political science and telecommunication senior. His column appears on Fridays.
