[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 67 (Friday, May 22, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5429-S5430]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         ISRAELI MEMBERSHIP IN A UNITED NATIONS REGIONAL GROUP

  Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, today a unanimous Senate will state in 
clear and simple terms that we will no longer abide by the 
discrimination faced by Israel at the United Nations. I speak of the 
fact that Israel is excluded from a United Nations regional group. 
Israel is the only one of the 185 member states of the United Nations 
barred from membership in a regional group. The United Nations member 
states have organized themselves by regional groups since before Israel 
joined the United Nations in 1949. Membership in a United Nations 
regional group confers eligibility to sit on the Security Council, the 
Economic and Social Council, as well as other United Nations councils, 
commissions, and committees.
  For the first time, the Senate provides notice of its intention to 
work to end this Cold War anachronism. One sorry throwback to an era 
when the institutionalized isolation of Israel was a given in 
international affairs--the ugly

[[Page S5430]]

``gentlemen's agreement'' that excludes Israel and only Israel from 
membership in any United Nations Regional Group. Israel, and only 
Israel, can never sit on the United Nations Security Council. Israel, 
and only Israel, can never serve on the United Nations Economic and 
Social Council, where her expertise is so sorely missed. Israel, and 
only Israel, is less than a full member of the very international 
organization which bravely voted on November 29, 1947 to create it.
  Today we call for Israel's admission to a United Nations Regional 
Group. This must be a goal of our government's foreign policy and a 
priority of reform efforts at the United Nations. That such legislation 
is necessary is a reminder that, despite the unparalleled success of 
the Zionist movement in its first hundred years, the state created half 
a century ago, as the fruit of this ideal, still requires support from 
its friends to overcome this institutional prejudice.
  It is a fitting tribute to this vision that our country will take its 
rightful place in the forefront of the effort to allow Israel to 
participate fully in international affairs and to be counted as a 
legitimate member among the nations of the world. I am joined in this 
effort by 54 cosponsors. I thank my colleagues for their support and in 
particular the distinguished senior Senator from Indiana, Senator 
Lugar, for his leadership.

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