After Hamas terrorists brutally murdered my father eight years ago, I spoke at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on the dangers of Palestinian incitement to terror. What I witnessed there was shocking and appalling.
I heard dozens of countries attacking Israel with baseless accusations and hateful rhetoric. The blatant antisemitism was horrifying, pure evil. I felt like I was in a nightmare. As I left the United Nations, I was invited to speak at a pro-Israel rally. The first words that came out of my mouth were “We survived Auschwitz as a people, and in there, they are laying the ideological train tracks to put us back in, that’s what’s going on, and that’s what’s been going on for years and years.”
Israel’s “trial” at the International Court of Justice is another painful reminder of this.
The UN was established in 1945 with a noble vision: to ensure international peace and security, foster cooperation and dialogue among nations, and protect human rights and dignity for all people.
Yet, over the years, the UN has deviated from its vision and betrayed its founding principles. It has become a stage for dictators and despots who want to expand their power and influence in the world and undermine true democracies.
The UN has lost its moral authority and credibility and has turned into a hindrance and a burden for the progress of peace, justice, and freedom. On a practical level, it has failed to achieve its goals, as evidenced by the long list of wars and genocides that it could not prevent. If the UN were a business, it would have gone bankrupt long ago; if it were a country, it would have faced a revolution. Sadly, the UN is a complex institution that survives on inertia and the illusion of its founding dream, so it persists.
UN hypocrisy on Iran
One of the most glaring examples of the UN’s moral decay is the recent appointment of Iran as the president of the Conference of Democracy, a body that is supposed to promote democratic values and practices around the world. This is not the first time that the UN has given a platform and a voice to tyrants and dictators while silencing and marginalizing the voices of the oppressed and the persecuted.
The UN’s moral bankruptcy was also evident in its 2018 decision to appoint Iran as the vice-chair of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Moreover, some of the most notorious women’s rights abusers, such as Iran, Yemen, and Afghanistan, have been chosen or assigned to participate in various UN bodies and committees that are tasked with protecting women’s rights, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, the Human Rights Council, and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
FINALLY, THE UN’s bias and hypocrisy are most evident in the disproportionate and unfair treatment of Israel by the UNHRC, a body that is supposed to protect and promote human rights around the world. The UNHRC has adopted more resolutions against Israel than against any other country in the world – and has singled out Israel as the only country subject to a permanent agenda item.
Failing to prevent war
The UN is not only morally bankrupt but also utterly ineffective in fulfilling its mission. Since its creation, it has failed to prevent 478 wars that have ravaged the world in the last 76 years. Many of these wars have been catastrophic, killing over a million people each, such as the Second Congo War, the Soviet-Afghan wars, the Bangladesh Civil War, the Nigerian Civil War, the Vietnam War, the Korean War, and the Second Sudanese Civil War.
It has also betrayed its responsibility to protect the victims of genocide and human rights violations. It has turned a blind eye or minimized the horrors and crimes perpetrated by countries like China, North Korea, Iran, and Venezuela, and the agony and displacement of millions of people in places like Rwanda, Darfur, Syria, and Myanmar.
The UN has failed to live up to its noble goals of maintaining peace and security, protecting human rights, and fostering cooperation among nations. Instead, it has become a platform for demonizing and delegitimizing Israel, the only democracy in the Middle East, and undermining Western civilization and the free world. Israel, as a proud and sovereign nation, should not tolerate the UN’s double standards and discrimination.
We cannot sit by idly while the UN paves the way for another Holocaust.
It is time for Israel, a vibrant and resilient democracy, to withdraw from the UN and lead an initiative to create a new institution with other democracies that share our values and vision. Israel has an opportunity to fulfill its biblical mission as a “light unto the nations” and lead the way for a new and values-based international forum that promotes democracy and real human rights.
Some might argue that leaving the UN would isolate Israel from the international community and expose it to its enemies. They might also say that Israel relies on the UN’s recognition of our sovereignty and legitimacy.
However, I believe that Israel’s standing in the world is based on our shared values with Western democracies, especially the United States, and not the endorsement of Iran, North Korea, Qatar, and other rogue states. Without the US veto in the UN, the organization would have tried to annihilate Israel long ago.
Others might say that leading a new international order would be unrealistic and impractical for Israel since we are a small and relatively young country, with limited resources and capabilities. But my parents taught me that you don’t have to be big or powerful to do the right thing, you just need to be resolute in your moral conviction. When you do the right thing, people will follow you.
Israel has proven time and again that it can overcome any challenge and achieve any goal, with courage, innovation, and faith.
Israel can and should lead the way for a better world.
The writer is an Israeli attorney, activist, and businessman.