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Updated: March 17, 2017
On Friday March 17, U.N. Secretary General called on ESCWA to withdraw its report on Israel. It is currently not available on their website. In response, ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf, who has a history of anti-Israel activity, resigned.
New York, NY, March 16, 2017 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today joined with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, in calling for the immediate recall of a “hostile and biased report” accusing Israel of “criminality.”
The report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA) was written by authors with a demonstrable track record of hostility toward Israel. The report accuses the “Israel regime” as being “designed” for the “core purpose” of apartheid, which it defines as “serving the ‘intention’ of racial domination.”
“Rather than provide constructive analysis about Israeli policy in the West Bank, this report is rife with outrageous accusations of criminality and apartheid practices and reflects the biased agenda of the authors,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “This report does not meet any reasonable standard of judiciousness or constructive analysis about Israeli policy or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We join the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and other diplomats in urging this report be immediately recalled.”
The 74-page report was written by Richard Falk, a longtime deeply biased advocate against Israel, who has previously used his U.N. appointments to accuse Israel of extreme, premeditated crimes and has dabbled in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. The co-author, Virginia Tilley, is an advocate of BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) campaigns against Israel.
ADL praised the statement from the office of the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the report “does not reflect the stance of the secretary general,” but noted that it nevertheless has the imprimatur of a U.N. body.
Headquartered in Beirut, ESCWA is comprised of 18 Arab countries, whose mission is to promote economic and social development and advancements among its member countries.