It is, of course, very widely believed among supporters of Israel—and
among some opponents, one imagines, though they are unlikely to ever
admit it—that it is not only a reasonable supposition but practically a
moral certainty that Israel cannot and will never get a fair hearing at
the UN or from the international community in general. Indeed, Netanyahu
all but said as much in his 2011 speech to the General Assembly, noting
that the Lubavitcher Rebbe once referred to the international body as
“a house of many lies.”
Most Israelis likely agree with this, as well. But however fervently
they agree, there always remains a nagging doubt. This doubt was
expressed fairly well, ironically, by one of the UN’s former leaders. In
2002, with Israel deep in the horrors of the second intifada and Ariel
Sharon’s Operation Defensive Shield at last fighting back against
Palestinian terrorism, international condemnation of the Jewish state
reached a fever pitch. Then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan summed up
the general attitude by asking, “Can Israel be right and the whole world
wrong?”
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