Dear UN HRC,You have invited individuals and organizations to make submissions regarding the “Underlying root causes of recurrent tensions, instability and protraction of conflict in and between the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel; as well as systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity.”Here are some issues that the UN HRC should consider prior to condemning Israel.1: On Sept. 1, 1967, the Arab League met in Khartoum Sudan to consider the defeat of Arab nations by Israel in 1967. The conference ended with the signing of the Khartoum Resolutions, best known for the conclusions that become known as the ‘Three Nos’, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with Israel and no peace with Israel.Here are the current members of the Arab League:Algeria BahrainComoros Djibouti Egypt IraqJordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya MauritaniaMorocco Oman Palestine Ramallah (de facto) Qatar Saudi Arabia Somalia Sudan SyriaTunisiaYemenUAE Several Arab league member nations have abrogated their Three Nos agreement by signing normalization agreements with Israel.Here is the list of these countries:BahrainEgyptJordanMoroccoSudanUAEMany Arab countries joined the Arab league after 1967 so it’s not clear that they are bound by the Three No’s resolution. Two of them, Bahrain and the UAE have signed normalization agreement with Israel that suggests that they are not bound by the 1967 Khartoum Resolutions.Here is a list of Arab league members who joined the Arab league after 1967:Bahrain 1971Comoros 1993Djibouti 1977Mauritania 1973Oman 1971Palestine 1976Qatar 1971Somalia 1974UAE 1971One must ask if the priority of the UN HRC is to punish Israel or to help bring peace to the region. If the latter, I urge the UN HRC to contact the Arab league and propose that all member nations sign normalization agreements with Israel. Palestine would be a crucial signee because if it decides to live in peace with the Jewish state, then all differences and conflicts will disappear.If the former, then why bother going through the charade of judging Israel when the whole world knows that the jury is mostly made up of countries who are signatories of the Khartoum Resolutions?I bring one other issue to your attention and that relates to your concern over instances of “systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity.” In 1948, Jordan along with five other Arab countries invaded the new state of Israel. In 1949 when a cease-fire was declared, Jordan remained in control of East Jerusalem. The first thing it did was to expel all the Jews. Then it gave Jewish homes and synagogues to the Arab people. The Arabs proceeded to desecrate the synagogues by turning them into stables. The final act of Jewish vilification was Jordan taking Jewish gravestones from the local cometary and placing them on the floor of latrines where Arab men could piss on the Jews. Would the ethnic cleansing of Jews, the desecration of their synagogues, and the insult of urinating on Jewish graves qualify as “systematic discrimination and repression based on national, ethnic, racial or religious identity”?Thank you for giving me the opportunity to make a contribution to peace.Respectfully yours, Larry Shapiro,
