[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 22]
[House]
[Pages 29270-29271]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                U.N.'S MULTIPLE ANTI-ISRAEL RESOLUTIONS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Sixty-two years ago, on November 29, 1947, the 
United Nations did something it should be very proud of. That day, the 
United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly to authorize the 
creation of a Jewish state, paving the way for the founding of a 
democratic State of Israel 6 months later. But since then, the paths of 
the U.N. and Israel have diverged.
  Israel's freedom, democracy, and prosperity are a model for the 
region and the world. The U.N., however, has abandoned its founding 
principles, has been manipulated and coerced by dictatorship after 
dictatorship, and has been plagued by corruption and mismanagement. 
Nowhere has the self-destructive, misguided path of the U.N. been more 
evident than in its bias towards Israel.
  This week, instead of commemorating Israel's creation and celebrating 
its many achievements, the U.N. repeated its annual ritual of mourning 
Israel's existence by adopting six anti-Israel resolutions. As usual, 
it did so under the guise of its ``International Day of Solidarity with 
the Palestinian People,'' celebrated the same day as that historic 1947 
General Assembly vote to create a Jewish state. But where is the U.N.'s 
``International Day of Solidarity'' with the people of Israel, who 
continue to be threatened by Hamas, Hezbollah, and other such militant 
groups; and by their state sponsors, Iran and Syria, who continue to 
pursue nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them? In the face of 
continued anti-Israel bias at the U.N., what has the United States done 
to stand up for our ally and fellow democracy?
  This past April, Ambassador Susan Rice promised that the U.S. would 
be ``fighting against the anti-Israel'' rhetoric at the U.N. 
Unfortunately, this was easier said than done. The anti-Israel attacks 
at the U.N. are not an occasional diversion. They are relentless. They 
pervade the U.N., and they are not easily stopped.
  An excellent case study in this bias is the U.N.'s response to 
Israel's conduct last winter of Operation Cast Lead, which was carried 
out to defend Israeli citizens from rocket and mortar attacks by Hamas 
and other violent extremist groups in Gaza. The Human Rights Council 
authorized a ``factfinding mission'' with a prejudicial mandate to 
investigate Israel and only Israel. The mission released the so-called 
``Goldstone Report'' that falsely accused Israel of deliberately 
attacking civilians, implicitly denied to Israel the right of self-
defense, and recommended that the case be referred to the International 
Criminal Court. Despite the heralded U.S. membership and engagement in 
the Human Rights Council, that rogues' gallery adopted the report's 
recommendations and condemned Israel. But lest we forget, in the last 
year alone, the Human Rights Council has adopted seven anti-Israel 
resolutions and perpetuated a gross anti-Semitic assault through the 
Durban II Conference.

                              {time}  1530

  So it should not have come as a surprise that the Human Rights 
Council endorsed the Goldstone Report.
  The General Assembly quickly followed suit. The U.N. High 
Commissioner for Human Rights praised the Goldstone Report. Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon has promised to transmit the report to the U.N. 
Security Council, where only a U.S. veto stands in the way of further 
anti-Israel action. And the ICC prosecutor has announced that he is 
considering launching an investigation into Israel's conduct, even 
though Israel is not an ICC member state and has a robust, independent 
judiciary that is presently dealing with a number of cases raised.

[[Page 29271]]

  These efforts to deny Israel its right of self-defense can--and 
will--be used to deny that same right to other free democracies, 
including the United States. Why do I say this? Well, the ICC 
prosecutor has already declared that he has jurisdiction over 
Afghanistan and is performing a preliminary investigation into U.S. and 
NATO operations in that country, which could lead to politically 
motivated prosecutions of American soldiers.
  These are the stakes of the U.N.'s anti-Israel agenda. The ``new era 
of engagement'' and increased U.S. funding to the U.N. has not made a 
positive difference at all.
  Mr. Speaker, it is time for the U.S. to use our strongest leverage, 
the billions of taxpayer dollars that we contribute to the U.N. every 
year. It is time to cut off funding to the U.N. until it produces real, 
effective reform.
  In closing, Mr. Speaker, for our ally Israel, for our U.S. service 
men and women, and for the rights of free democracies everywhere, there 
is no time to lose.

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