New York, NY. . .Leaders of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations today denounced the resolution on Jerusalem adopted by the UN General Assembly, as the latest example in a long history of counterproductive measures that undermine the prospect of negotiations with Israel. The leaders commended the responsible actions of those countries voting against the resolution, and noted the important message sent by the sixty-five countries that abstained or did not cast a vote.
Stephen M. Greenberg, Chairman and Malcolm Hoenlein, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO of the Conference of Presidents, 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.
Rather than contributing to bringing the parties closer to a negotiated end of the conflict, this resolution adds to the long record of biased anti-Israel resolutions adopted in the General Assembly, by UNESCO, the Human Rights Council and other UN bodies, entangling the UN in strategies to evade meaningful negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
The resolution did not specifically refer to the United States by name, but a parade of countries including Yemen, the principal sponsor of the resolution, as well as Syria, Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, and most of the others speaking in favor of the resolution prior to the vote, harshly criticized the U.S. for its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
We are once again grateful to the U.S. and Ambassador Nikki Haley for displaying steadfast moral leadership in defense of what is right and in the U.S. national interest, and in support of Israel.
We also note those EU member states that had the courage to take a path that diverged from the misguided EU consensus in favor of the resolution and to other countries that resisted supporting this ill-conceived resolution.”