Reflections on the UN’s Treatment of Israel
In 2021, during my time as Israel’s Foreign Minister, the UN General Assembly passed several resolutions condemning Israel. Fast forward to 2022, when I was Prime Minister, and once again, the General Assembly seemed to be doing the same thing. But honestly, no one showed any real concern. It wasn’t like my office was bombarded with panic or urgency. We simply stopped to watch the TV, our hands sweaty, but not particularly anxious. My UN ambassador never called me, choking on tears, claiming he felt like a failure. The reality is, the UN’s meetings and votes regarding Israel feel as routine as rain in London.
Do we really need an adversary urging Trump to dismantle the Middle East Peace Agreement?
The origins of the UN stem from a democratic desire to promote liberal values and uphold human rights, founded on a universal declaration that, among other things, states that effective democracy should ensure free expression of the people’s will. It feels like there’s a crucial part missing: or else you’re out.
A mix of colonial guilt and ideological negligence has meant that the UN increasingly recognizes more and more nations as democracies. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, out of the 193 Member States, there are 46 characterized as “flawed democracies,” while only 25 can be considered “full democracies.” This creates a situation where, in any vote, budget, or resolution, non-democracies hold a significant majority— and they wield that power without a hint of remorse.
Take, for example, how Iran participated in the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2022, shortly after Mahsa Amini was murdered. Or how Syria chaired the Disarmament Conference in 2018 while gas was being used on its citizens. Not to mention that North Korea hosted its own Disarmament Conference in 2022 while openly showcasing its nuclear ambitions. Meanwhile, China finds its way onto the Human Rights Council despite its glaring human rights violations.
What needs to change?
Before diving deeper into the prejudices observed at the UN, let me clarify: I’m not saying Israel is perfect. In fact, I often disagree with the actions of the current government, particularly regarding Gaza. Yet the way the UN treats Israel sometimes feels like a case of diplomatic insanity. Notably, Israel constitutes only 0.1% of the world’s population but has been the target of over 60% of the UN’s condemnatory resolutions in the last decade.
In 2023, amidst the turmoil from Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7th, the General Assembly issued 15 resolutions against Israel, compared to just eight directed at all other nations combined. This isn’t just an anomaly; over the previous decade, the assembly passed 187 resolutions against Israel, while only 86 were aimed at the rest of the globe. Wars in places like Syria, Yemen, Ethiopia, and Myanmar have claimed far more lives than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, yet the UN’s voting patterns remain unchanged.
This isn’t just a bizarre situation; it’s an incredibly expensive one. The total expenditure of the UN system surpasses $70 billion, eclipsing the annual budgets of nations like Luxembourg or Cyprus. Much of this funding comes from the United States and the EU, often disappearing into an unfathomable void. It runs counter to the UN Charter’s promise to promote “the inherent dignity and equal rights of all members of the human family.”
What we require
A democratic UN seems essential. Perhaps a clearer term would be “Dawn,” and we wouldn’t even have to overhaul the goal entirely. It’s about reinforcing the commitment to democracy and standing against authoritarian leaders who undermine what is sacred. The focus should also shift toward combating the significant threats of our age—terrorism, religious extremism, misinformation, unstable nuclear regimes, and the manipulation of democratic processes by those who despise democracy itself.
Ultimately, organizations should prioritize real economic cooperation that emphasizes intellectual property, human rights, freedom of expression, and fair elections. Above all, clarity is vital: if you seek access to democratic resources and power, you must adhere to democratic principles. Democracy isn’t an exclusive club; it represents a binding contract, and those who refuse to uphold it shouldn’t be allowed to exploit that privilege.
