United Nations – from the Inside
Over 800 members of the Melbourne Jewish Community have heard a first-hand account of the challenges Israel faces at the United Nations and how it deals with those challenges.
Ron Proser
His Excellency Ambassador Ron Prosor, Israel’s Permanent Representative to the UN and current Vice President of the UN General Assembly, was the keynote speaker at a Jewish National Fund gala dinner at Crown casino last night.
“Israel is facing a new battlefield that is no longer physical: the delegitimisation and demonisation of Israel. “They’re trying to brand Israel – and the Jewish people too – as a pariah state,” said Ambassador Prosor.
The Ambassador gave numerous and often ironic examples of the “triple standards” at work at the UN, which ignores the serious abuses perpetrated by other nation states while focussing on the State of Israel. “There is one standard for democracies, one for dictatorships and one for Israel,” he asserted.
The problem, as he sees it, is not just in the day to day occurrences at the UN but also endemic to the entire structure, which allows states such as Syria and Libya to sit as members of the UN Human Rights Council.
Ambassador Prosor stated that the only way to combat the delegitimisation of Israel at the UN is to go on the offensive. “This is something that needs us to go out on the offensive. We have to change the battlefield, we can’t win in the defensive mode,” he said.
Ambassador Prosor also spoke about the so-called Arab Spring and pointed out that while there was much uncertainty, it was also producing “amazing opportunities” for Israel, particularly because other Arab states were now feeling threatened by the Iranian nuclear program.
This year’s JNF gala dinner raised funds for the ‘Sha’ar Hanegev’ water reclamation project in the Negev Desert and also paid tribute to long-time JNF supporters Tom and Rae Mandel.
Throughout the night, speakers emphasised that although JNF is more than 100 years old, it is an organisation that constantly reinvents itself to be relevant for today and for the future, and that benefits not only Israel with its cutting-edge environmental advances but also the rest of the world.
Ex Victorian MP Evan Thornley, now CEO of Better Place Australia was Master of Ceremonies for the night. Other guests of honour included Member for Caulfield David Southwick representing Ted Baillieu and Tony Abbott, Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews MP, Member for Footscray Marsha Thomson, Member for Bentleigh Elizabeth Miller and Bruce Wolpe, senior adviser to the Prime Minister.
”Ambassador Prosor stated that the only way to combat the delegitimisation of Israel at the UN is to go on the offensive. “This is something that needs us to go out on the offensive. We have to change the battlefield, we can’t win in the defensive mode,” he said.
Ambassador Prosor last night made a very important point that all our Jewish community leaders should take note … enough turning the other cheek, not giving oxygen ,not making waves ,generally being on the defensive all the time.Time to take the offensive
The Brilliant UN speaker also took aim the the Jewish leftists who are doing the work of the Palestinians/ Arabs and the damage they are causing.
If only Ron Proser could be cloned and sent around the world to represent Jewish diaspora.
Wish I could have been there.
Finally someone who says it as it is. I’m still at a loss to work out where the Jewish loony Left, have their brains.?
What is the matter with these people?
If they see problems with Israel, for G-d’s sake do it where it will be heard. We don’t have people from this country going out around the world telling everyone what’s wrong here, so why do these useless idiots do it?
I’d like to hear an answer to that one