"Shocked by the anti-Semitic statements": The UN Secretary-General stands by Israel Israel today

In the shadow of the storm that erupted last weekend, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres came out last night (Monday) through his spokesman against the anti-Semitic words of Milon Kotari, a member of the UN Human Rights Council's Commission of Inquiry on "Israel and the Occupied Territories".

As you may remember, Kotari wondered in an interview with the pro-Palestinian website "Mundo-Weiss" why UN members continue to allow Israel to be a member of the organization. Kotari also claimed that social networks are largely controlled by the "Jewish lobby", which tries to use them to undermine the legitimacy of the committee.

"Condemns anti-Semitism".

Guterres, photo: E.

times

Stefan Duerrich, Guterres' spokesman, commented on Kotari's words and said that "the Secretary-General has always been very clear in saying that there is no place for anti-Semitism in the work of the United Nations. In addition, Israel is without a doubt a member of the United Nations that enjoys the same rights and obligations as One of the other 192 countries that are members of the organization." However, Duerich clarified that "the Secretary-General has no authority over the investigative committee, whose members are appointed by the Human Rights Council." 

"The lie and hypocrisy of the Council"

The words of the Secretary-General's spokesman came after Prime Minister Lapid addressed a letter to Guterres, demanding that he immediately dismiss and disband the members of the Commission of Inquiry against Israel. The Commission was established by the UN Human Rights Council following Operation Wall Guardian, but the duration of its work was not limited in time and thus It retains the ability to continue publishing unlimited reports on "Israel and the Occupied Territories".

Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, said in response: "Kotari revealed to the world his anti-Semitic views that prove the lie and hypocrisy of the "Human Rights Council".

Anyone who challenges Israel's right to be a member of the UN and claims that the social networks are controlled by a "Jewish lobby" is a wretched racist and there is no moral validity for such a person working within the UN.

I will continue to fight against anti-Semitic and anti-Israel elements in the UN such as Kotari."

"Immediately disperse the members of the committee."

Roam Lapid, photo: Mark Israel Salem

Even before that, Kothari's words caused a storm and drew sharp condemnations from American and British diplomats.

Debra Lipstadt, coordinator of the fight against anti-Semitism on behalf of the US State Department, wrote on her Twitter account: "It is shocking that a person in charge of the Human Rights Council investigative committee repeated anti-Semitic images and questioned the legitimacy of Israel as a member of the United Nations."

Michelle Taylor, US Ambassador to the Human Rights Council, said that "We are appalled by the anti-Semitic and anti-Israel comments of a member of the investigative committee.

These are unacceptable things that unfortunately further aggravate our deep concerns about the nature of the commission of inquiry and the extensive mandate given to it, as well as about the disproportionate and biased treatment of the Human Rights Council in relation to Israel." 

Unlimited mandate for the committee

Simon Manley, the British ambassador to the Human Rights Council, also harshly criticized Kotari's words and defined them as "offensive and unacceptable".

Manley also added that "anti-Semitism has no place in the United Nations." Following Kothari's words, Jewish organizations, including the Conference of Presidents and the Bnei Brit organization, called for the disbanding of the commission of inquiry, which received an unlimited mandate to deal with the "Israeli occupation."

In the face of the harsh criticism of the statements, the chairman of the investigative committee, Navi Pillai, actually defended Kothari and claimed in a letter she sent to the chairman of the UN Human Rights Council that "the committee does not question any UN member state."

Pillai also added that Kothari's words about the control of the "Jewish lobby" on social media were "deliberately taken out of context". 

"Israeli attempt to subvert the UN"

Kotari reasoned in an interview that he expressed his doubts regarding the legitimacy of Israel's membership in the United Nations by stating that "the Israeli government does not respect its obligations as a member of the United Nations. In fact, in a continuous manner - whether directly or through the United States - Israel tries to undermine the mechanisms of the United Nations".

Kothari went on to say that "We are very disturbed that the social networks are controlled to a large extent by the Jewish lobby or by specific organizations that are pouring a lot of money in an effort to undermine our legitimacy."

were we wrong

We will fix it!

If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us