All 100 US Senators send a potent message to the U.N. secretary general, accuse the U.N. of failing to live up to its original mission and unfairly targeting Israel, siting, “… Continued targeting of Israel by the U.N. Human Rights Council and other U.N. entities is unacceptable. This situation must change.”

By Israel Hayom Staff

The United States Senate sent a letter, signed by all 100 senators, to the secretary general of the United Nations on Thursday, demanding an end to the world body’s “anti-Israel agenda.”

The letter (below), obtained by The Washington Post, asked that Secretary General Antonio Guterres “ensure that Israel is treated neither better nor worse than any other U.N. member in good standing.”

The letter further noted that “too often, the U.N. is exploited as a vehicle for targeting Israel rather than as a forum committed to advancing the lofty goals of its founders. These actions have at times reinforced the broader scourge of anti-Semitism, and distracted certain U.N. entities from their original missions.”

While never threatening to withhold the U.S.’s considerable donations to the U.N., the senators wrote, “As both the U.N.’s principal founding member and its largest contributor, the United States should insist on reform. … Continued targeting of Israel by the U.N. Human Rights Council and other U.N. entities is unacceptable. This situation must change.”

Highlighting the Senate’s strong feelings about the issue, the senators acknowledged that “as Republicans and Democrats, we disagree on many issues, [but] we are united in our desire to see the United Nations improve its treatment of Israel.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley – PBS screenshot

This unequivocal message comes amid U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley’s repeated remarks in defense of Israel. Since being appointed ambassador, Haley has consistently condemned the same perceived bias against Israel. In their letter, the senators praised Haley, saying, “We commend the words of our nation’s Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, who recently stated, ‘It is the U.N.’s anti-Israel bias that is long overdue for change.'”

The letter asked that the U.N. Human Rights Council focus on a number of pressing human rights crises around the world “in countries such as Russia, China, North Korea, Syria, Cuba, Venezuela and South Sudan,” and accused the council of “not living up to its mission.”

The senators concluded the letter with an offer of collaboration, saying, “If you continue to build on your recent action, we stand ready to work with you to eliminate the organization’s anti-Israel bias and to fight anti-Semitism in all its forms.”

View original Israel Hayom publication at:
http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=42079