Adam Kredo reports for the Washington Free Beacon about the United Nations’ latest anti-Israel action.
The United Nations Security Council has scheduled a critical meeting on the Gaza war for Tuesday afternoon—as the Jewish holiday Rosh Hashanah is in full swing. The move is meant to sideline Israeli officials who will be observing the holiday, sources familiar with the meeting told the Washington Free Beacon.
The Security Council’s public calendar shows only that a “Middle East” briefing is slated for Tuesday—the first day of high-level debate at the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA)—in the council’s Turtle Bay chambers. Though the council did not disclose a specific topic, sources familiar with the meeting said that it will focus on the war in Gaza and that it was scheduled during Rosh Hashanah thanks to pressure from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the self-described “collective voice of the Muslim world” that maintains a permanent delegation to the U.N. and counts the likes of Iran, Qatar, Turkey, and Pakistan as members. Another member, Algeria, was especially aggressive in pushing for the Gaza meeting to fall within Rosh Hashanah, the Free Beacon has learned.
The Jewish holiday begins at sundown on Monday and concludes at nightfall on Wednesday. UNGA high-level debate does not end until five days later, leaving plenty of time for the Security Council to hold the Gaza meeting after Rosh Hashanah. South Korea, which holds the Security Council presidency, ultimately decided on the date and time, suggesting the country capitulated to the OIC’s demands.
The meeting will come amid a larger push by Arab nations and European allies to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state during the UNGA, a move meant to increase pressure on Israel to end its war against Hamas with no conditions. One source familiar with the meeting said its schedule is “yet another example of how the U.N. is a fundamentally unserious institution.”
“It’s a farce for the Security Council to schedule this meeting on Rosh Hashanah, knowing Israel can’t participate or respond to the anti-Semitic dogpile that will take place,” the source told the Free Beacon.
