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Libya blocks U.N. council resolution condemning killing of Jerusalem seminary killings

March 7th, 2008
By JILL MILLER ZIMON

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From the TimesOnline (UK):

In an extraordinary development in New York, an emergency session of the United Nations failed to agree on a condemnation of the killings, the first major attack in Jerusalem in four years.

Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, Britain, France, the European Union, Canada, Israel and Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, condemned the strike, while President Bush assured Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, of full US support.

But any hope of an agreement was lost as Israel and Libya traded insults and accused each other of terrorism.

The United States had drafted a statement which read: “The members of the Security Council condemn in the strongest terms the terrorist attack that took place in Jerusalem which resulted in the death and injury of dozens of Israeli civilians.” It had hoped the 15-nation council would unanimously support the text but Libya, backed by several other council members, prevented its adoption.

“We were not able to come to an agreement because the Libyan delegation with the support of one or two others did not want to condemn this act by itself but wanted to link it to other issues,” Zalmay Khalilzad, the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters after the council meeting.

The Libyans wanted to include in the statement language condemning the recent Israeli incursions into Gaza, which have killed over 120 Palestinians, many of them civilians. Khalilzad rejected the move, arguing that killing students in a school was different from the unintentional killing of civilians.

Dan Gillerman, the ambassador of Israel, which is not on the council, referred to Libya as the country responsible for the 1988 bombing of Pam Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, adding: “Unfortunately, this is what happens when the Security Council is infiltrated by terrorists.” Libya, a long-time enemy of Israel, was elected to the council last year after the United States dropped its objections.

Someone remind me - how is it that Libya is on the council in the first place? Oh - yeah - there it is in that last line. The U.S. dropped its objections to having Libya on it.

And who exactly objects to Israel being on it?

Disclaimer: Other than being on a Model UN ICJ court, I know little about the inner-workings of the U.N. (though I’ve eaten at a great French restaurant just around the corner from it). Feel free to educate me, in an objective way before lunging into the subjective ways.



This entry was posted on Friday, March 7th, 2008 at 7:50 am and is filed under Gaza, West Bank, Mideast, Hamas, Hezbollah, Israel, Palestine, Terrorism, Middle East. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Viewing 8 Comments

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    Hey! Cut Libya some slack! As outlaws they're politically protected, especially if they do the PC proper thing and bash Israel. Besides, if Arafat can get it and if Carter can be given it to bash Bush and if Gore can be given it as a playpen lefty celeb rock-star, why can't Khadafi get his Nobel Peace Prize, too?
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    I realize Chavez is impatient to get the Nobel Peace Prize, but Khadafi should be first. Israel is more politically incorrect than anyone fighting commie terrorists and their dictator sponsor in Latin America.
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    I can't tell if you are serious or not.
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    Wow, color me surprised. Arabs stopped a toothless and totally useless resolution condemning the intentional slaughter of civilians in response to Israeli attacks on terrorist leaders hiding among civilians in response to rockets launched at civilians in respones to ......
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    I want to be careful in how I word this response but innocent people are slaughtered everyday. On the same day as the yeshiva students were murdered, 53 innocents were killed in Baghdad bombings - page 37 of the paper. In Memphis we just has 6 people(including children) gunned down in a home - no UN meeting or Bush condemnation on that one either. There was an attack by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka they other day that took 7 lives - hmm - no one paid attention to that. Gee Whiz how could I forget about Darfur, but I'll bet more than 8 innocents lost their lives there yesterday.

    As a Jew, I am sensitive to this issue and feel that the UN does favor the arabs/Palestinians and a Gaza resolution should mean Israel gets one too. However, it is apparent that the US and the West do feel that a Jewish life is worth a lot more than those in third world countries if you believe the press.
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    Jill - Here is a comment I made on Holly's post on this subject and thought it might be interesting to add to yours.

    One of the factors that has NOT been highlighted in any discussions of this tragic episode is the origin and nature of the yeshiva attacked. My first comment is that I absolutely abhore the deaths of the 8 students - I want that on the record. Nonetheless I want to add some context to this situation.

    The yeshiva, Mercaz HaRav, was founded by Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Kook, a fundemental messianic Jew, who believes that Jewish settlements across Eretz Israel will deliver the Messiah to the Jews. This yeshiva is the foundation of Israel's National Religious Party (NRP) Everyone who goes thru this Yeshiva, including two of my cousins, is indoctrinated to move to the West Bank and either expand or build new settlements. Having met many of these students they are quite vociferous in their desire to transfer all Christians and Muslims out of Eretz Israel. In fact, some of the ugliest language I have heard in my life comes from the mouths of Mercaz HaRav students and staff.

    The gunman was apparently a driver for the yeshiva and would be well aware of the student's attitudes towards arabs. I don't think it was just a coincidence that this yeshiva was attacked, even though in no way shape or form do I agree with it. This yeshiva is at the forefront of efforts to derail peace talks on the Israeli side. Obviously, they have plenty of company on the Palestinian side.

    The hatred and cycle of violence will not cease by doing the same things as have been done the last 40 years. If I were President I would lock Abbas, Haniyeh and Olmert in a room and not let them out until they came to an agreement on peace.
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    "I can't tell if you are serious or not."

    The part about Carter and Gore was serious as well as correct.

    The part about Chavez was 100% creativity, though fact-based on past performance of the Nobel awards and how they predict future results.

    The rest was not a position I hold, because nobody sane can seriously hold it, but incredibly, it is held by many.
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    These are intelligent comments and reflections and I agree with much of the content. I appreciate the contributions because only with honest but level-headed dialogue will anything ever get resolved. The idea of locking them in a room isn't such a bad one, but are we sure they're the only ones how need to be in there? :)
 
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