[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 160 (Wednesday, December 14, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




H. RES. 438 (ON UNFAIR AND DISCRIMINATORY RESOLUTIONS AGAINST ISRAEL IN 
                          THE UNITED NATIONS)

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                          HON. STENY H. HOYER

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 14, 2005

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to support this very important bipartisan resolution calling on 
member states of the United Nations to stop unfairly criticizing Israel 
and to promote a more balanced approach to the challenges in the Middle 
East.
  In June of this year, the House overwhelmingly adopted a resolution 
condemning anti-semitic statements made at U.N. meetings and by U.N. 
member states. It was proper and appropriate that we publicly and 
vocally condemn some of the outrageous statements made by U.N. 
officials and member states.
  However, there also is a more subtle form of anti-semitism that has 
been taking place at the United Nations for far too long--the alarming 
rate at which the U.N. General Assembly has considered and adopted 
anti-Israel resolutions.
  As noted in the text of Mr. Rothman's measure, 21 of the 71 
resolutions adopted by rollcall votes during the 59th session of the 
General Assembly dealt with Israel, and in recent years, the General 
Assembly and Security Council have introduced and approved hundreds of 
measures and resolutions that unfairly criticize and condemn Israel.
  At a time when the international community is confronted with crises 
such as the ongoing terror campaign being waged by AI Qaeda against 
democracies in every corner of the world, the tragic genocide in 
Darfur, Sudan, and the continued spread of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria, 
the U.N. General Assembly has seen fit to devote nearly a third of its 
time to castigating the state of Israel.
  These unbalanced and discriminatory anti-Israel resolutions have been 
adopted by overwhelming margins. Meanwhile, there has been a disturbing 
lack of condemnation of Palestinian terror attacks against Israel.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to not only support this 
resolution, but also to carry its message to the ambassadors, foreign 
ministers and heads of state with whom they meet on a daily basis: The 
mistreatment of Israel at the hands of the United Nations has not gone 
unnoticed, and it is no longer acceptable.
  Furthermore, this obsessive and inappropriate focus on Israel at the 
United Nations only serves to harm that institution's credibility and 
to undermine the U.N.'s ability to serve as an honest broker in the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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