U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley has expressed outrage at a UN report that maligns Israel as an apartheid state.
The report by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) accused Israel of imposing apartheid on Arabs in Judea and Samaria, a completely bogus claim. It concluded that “available evidence established beyond a reasonable doubt that Israel is guilty of policies and practices that constitute the crime of apartheid.”
The ESCWA is based in Beirut and is comprised of 18 Arab nations. It also lists the so-called “State of Palestine” as a full member.
On behalf of the United States, Haley demanded that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres withdraw the report.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon also condemned the report, saying in a statement: “The attempt to smear and falsely label the only true democracy in the Middle East by creating a false analogy is despicable and constitutes a blatant lie.”
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Emmanuel Nahshon was more blunt: “Friendly advice — don’t read it without anti-nausea pills.”
has issued today a " Der Stürmer"like report, NOT endorsed by @UNSG . Friendly advice- dont read it without anti nausea pills….
— Emmanuel Nahshon (@EmmanuelNahshon) March 15, 2017
On behalf of Guterres, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a statement, “The report as it stands does not reflect the views of the secretary-general,” and added that it was written without consulting the UN leader.
“The United States is outraged by the report,” Haley said in a statement. “The United Nations secretariat was right to distance itself from this report, but it must go further and withdraw the report altogether… That anti-Israel propaganda would come from a body whose membership nearly universally does not recognize Israel is unsurprising.”
Former special UN rapporteur Richard Falk is one of the authors of the report. Falk is the same UN official who praised the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, likening the group to the French resistance of World War II.
Not so Haley, who added “That it was drafted by Richard Falk, a man who has repeatedly made biased and deeply offensive comments about Israel and espoused ridiculous conspiracy theories, including about the 9/11 terrorist attacks, is equally unsurprising.
“The United States stands with our ally Israel and will continue to oppose biased and anti-Israel actions across the UN system and around the world.”