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Queens Museum reinstates Israeli UN event following outcry over cancellation

NEW YORK (JTA) – The Queens Museum will host an event commemorating the United Nations decision to establish a Jewish state, reversing a decision to cancel it.

The museum, run by the New York City borough of Queens, is housed in the same building where the General Assembly vote partitioning Palestine into Jewish and Arab states took place on Nov. 29, 1947. Israel’s mission to the United Nations reserved space in June to mark the event’s 70th anniversary and invited senior UN dignitaries. [Read more…]

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Zionism is a human rights struggle, says UN Watch executive director

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Hillel Neuer listens to proceedings at United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, January 30, 2007. (UN Watch)
Hillel Neuer speaks at UN Watch briefing in Geneva, November 4, 2014. (UN Watch)

Hillel Neuer speaks at UN Watch briefing in Geneva, November 4, 2014. (UN Watch)

Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, will be the keynote speaker, September 17, at the Jewish Federation of Ottawa Annual Campaign Kickoff. Neuer spoke with the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin from his office in Geneva.

UN Watch, a Geneva-based non-governmental organization, has been an important voice for human rights at the United Nations (UN) and in the international media since its founding in 1993. UN Watch has also stood strong against the demonization of Israel at the UN and its various bodies.

Canadian lawyer and human rights activist Hillel Neuer has been executive director of UN Watch since 2004 and will discuss his work with the NGO when he speaks in Ottawa next month. [Read more…]

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After UNESCO vote, Netanyahu reads from Bible to prove Jewish ties to Hebron

JERUSALEM (JTA) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu put a kippah on his head and read from the Bible during the weekly cabinet meeting to illustrate the Jewish people’s and Israel’s connection to Hebron.

Sunday’s display came after the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on Friday acting on a request from the Palestinians, declared Hebron’s Old City to be a heritage site in danger. [Read more…]

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UNESCO passes controversial motion calling Hebron ‘endangered heritage site in Palestine’

(JTA) – The World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, passed in a secret ballot a Palestinian-led motion calling Hebron an “endangered heritage site” in “Palestine” despite protests by Israel and Jewish groups.

Before the vote in Krakow, Poland on Friday, Israel’s foreign ministry and Jewish groups urged the committee members to vote against a motion filed earlier this year by the Palestinian Authority, which is seeking world heritage status for the city. [Read more…]

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Nikki Haley calls UN a ‘bully’ against Israel during meeting with Netanyahu

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaking at a Security Council meeting in New York City, April 12, 2017. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speaking at a Security Council meeting in New York City, April 12, 2017. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

(JTA) – Nikki Haley, the American ambassador to the United Nations, called the UN a “bully” against Israel, during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu thanked the envoy for “standing up for Israel” in the UN. [Read more…]

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Haley warns U.S. reconsidering membership in UN Human Rights Council

Nikki Haley at a press briefing before a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York, May 16, 2017. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Nikki Haley at a press briefing before a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York, May 16, 2017. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Nikki Haley at a press briefing before a meeting of the United Nations Security Council in New York, May 16, 2017.
(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

(JTA) – Nikki Haley, the American ambassador to the United Nations, said the U.S. is considering its membership in the UN Human Rights Council, citing among other things its bias against Israel.

In a speech Tuesday to the council in Geneva, Haley cited Israel as one of several factors leading the United States to reconsider its membership. Another is the membership of human rights abusers like Venezuela, Cuba, China, Burundi and Saudi Arabia. [Read more…]

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UN secretary-general calls for Palestinian state in statement marking 50th anniversary of Six-Day War

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaking to reporters at the U.N. headquarters in New York, Dec. 12, 2016. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaking to reporters at the U.N. headquarters in New York, Dec. 12, 2016. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaking to reporters at the UN headquarters in New York, Dec. 12, 2016. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

NEW YORK (JTA) – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres criticized Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and called for the establishment of a Palestinian state in a statement marking the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Six-Day War.

The statement, issued Monday, said the war “resulted in Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza and the Syrian Golan and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Syrians.” [Read more…]

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