This month, like in September every year, world leaders from the 193 member states of the United Nations are set to descend on the organization’s headquarters in New York for what is termed the “high-level week.”
Discussions will focus on the most important global issues of the day, from climate change to health, as well as international peace and security. At the top of the agenda, most likely, will be the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, the war between the US and Iran, and the war in Gaza.
Like every year, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is slated to address the General Assembly and, like in the past, there will likely be protests from states openly hostile to Israel and possibly even from some of Israel’s friends.
For this edition of The Jerusalem Report, we take a deep dive into the global institution, and look at some of the resolutions against Israel that suggest its inherent biased.
The cover story features an interview with Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon. Now in his second term, Danon told the Report that he has witnessed growing hostility, especially from UN officials.
Ambassador Alan Baker, a former legal officer in the UN’s Office of Legal Affairs and former legal adviser to Israel’s Foreign Ministry, argues that the UN has pushed beyond its legal mandate and needs to undergo reforms.
Asher Fredman, the executive director of the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy, lays out the case for why the US should reconsider its financial backing of a global organization structurally biased against the US and its allies.
Scrutiny of the UN would not be complete without looking at the controversial agency UNRWA. Marcus Sheff, the CEO of the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education, breaks down why the agency is so problematic.
Then there are Jonathan Harounoff, a former spokesman for Israel’s mission to the UN, who takes readers behind the scenes at the institution, and commentator Neville Teller, who highlights how the discredited “Zionism is racism” 1975 resolution is making a comeback.
Meanwhile, Executive Director of UN Watch Hillel Neuer looks at the role of special rapporteurs and why they all turn against Israel.
Pivoting to Israel’s October 27 election, the Report’s staff writer and deputy editor Chani Kaplan asks analysts why there seems to be a dearth of female political leaders. Assaf Shapira, the head of the Israel Democracy Institute’s Political Reform Program, explains why Israel’s electoral system is less representative than in other democratic countries.
Security analyst Dr. Eric R. Mandel interviews award-winning Iran International journalist Negar Mojtahedi about the reality inside Iran.
Sagiv Steinberg, a Middle East geostrategic analyst and communications expert, discusses how a loss of support for Hamas is leaving Palestinian politics with a deepening vacuum.
Abir Gitlin from the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv shares findings of a recent survey that shows how Israelis have reassessed their views on the war with Iran and how the US supports them.
Former Israeli deputy foreign minister and ambassador Danny Ayalon, together with Middle East analyst Moran Alaluf, explore why a ceasefire or agreement can never be enough when an enemy retains the will and capacity to strike again.
Finally, feature writer Dana Ben-Shimon introduces readers to Kulna, a Jerusalem co-existence organization that has stayed strong despite tensions.
While the focus of this edition is on events in Midtown Manhattan, there is plenty here to give you food for thought as you enjoy the High Holy Days with your families.
Chag Sameach
– Ruth Marks Eglash