Biden Hypocritically Endorsed Violating Israel’s Safety and Sovereign Rights Guaranteed by the UN Charter – After Touting UN Charter Rights for Others

Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) National President Morton A. Klein released the following statement:

ZOA is appalled that President Biden said that the Palestinian Arab terror regime is “entitled” to a state, during Biden’s speech before the United Nations General Assembly on September 20, 2022. No Palestinian Arab state has ever existed, and there is no lawful entitlement to such as state. Moreover, the Palestinian Authority regime persistently incites terror with antisemitic lies; glorifies and pays $400 million per year to terrorists to murder Jews; and openly seeks to destroy all of Israel. Such a state would be a Hamas-Fatah-Iranian terror state; would launch constant terror attacks and rockets into Israel’s major cities; and would pose the gravest threat to Israel’s existence. The Palestinian Center for Survey and Policy Research (PCSPR) poll last week again showed that if Palestinian Arab presidential elections were held today, Hamas terror leader Ismail Haniyeh would overwhelmingly beat Palestinian Authority terror leader Mahmoud Abbas (53% to 38%). It is dangerous and wrong to assert that this terror regime is entitled to a state on Israel’s land.

Biden’s statement will embolden more anti-Jewish terror, both in Israel and throughout the world. It may already have done so. The day after Biden’s UN speech, an Arab terrorist injured eight Israelis in stabbing and pepper spray attacks in central Israel (near Modi’in); and another Arab terrorist ran over and injured another Israeli in Samaria.

Moreover, weakening or causing the elimination of Israel – the United States’ most loyal ally in the Middle East – would severely damage the United States’ security and ability to combat terrorism.

Biden Hypocritically Trampled on the UN Charter Guarantees to Israel:

Notably, at the beginning of Biden’s UN speech, when discussing the Russia-Ukraine situation, Biden repeatedly stressed the importance of abiding by the UN Charter and the UN Charter’s respect for UN nations’ sovereign rights. But then Biden hypocritically trampled on Israel’s sovereign rights guaranteed in the same UN Charter (which include Israel’s rights to Judea/Samaria and Jerusalem). The UN Charter (which is a U.S. treaty obligation) continued the rights guaranteed to Israel under the 1922 Mandate, which provided that no territory designated for the Jewish homeland “shall be ceded or leased to, or in any way placed under the control of, the Government of any foreign Power.” Thus, neither the U.S. nor the UN can lawfully engage in actions to cede Israel’s land to a Palestinian Arab state. (See ZOA Resource: “Israel has the Legal Right to the Land Of Israel, Including Jerusalem, Judea/Samaria & The Golan, Under Binding International Law.”)

Biden Also Undermined U.S. Interests at the UN Security Council:

It is also very concerning that during his UN speech, Biden called for making UN Security Council vetoes “rare,” and for expanding the number of permanent and non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Why is Biden calling for making vetoes rare? Is Biden planning to secretly orchestrate and refuse to veto terrible anti-Israel resolutions – like the Obama-Biden administration did in 2016 – to obtain passage of UNSC Resolution 2334, which falsely labels much of Israel’s land, including the Jewish people’s holiest sites in Jerusalem “Occupied Palestinian Territory,” denies Jewish rights to live in much of the Jewish homeland, and promotes antisemitic boycotts? (See, e.g., “ZOA Condemns Obama/Kerry/Power For Enabling Passage of Antisemitic Ethnic Cleansing Anti-Israel UN Res Denying Jewish Rights to Live in Jerusalem/Judea/Samaria,” Dec. 23, 2016; and here, here, here , here and here.)

Is Biden planning to try to obtain passage of the even worse UN Security Council resolution that the Obama-Biden administration tried to pass following their “success” at passing Resolution 2334? (The Obama-Biden administration withdrew the second, even worse resolution after Russia said that it would veto it.)

Back in April, the U.S. co-sponsored a UN General Assembly resolution to undermine the Security Council veto power. The UNGA resolution (which is of questionable legality) purported to require a UN General Assembly debate on any matter vetoed in the Security Council. Although the resolution was ostensibly aimed at limiting Russia’s use of the veto power, the resolution will end up harming the U.S.’ ability to use the veto power to protect U.S. interests and Israel.  

Moreover, Biden’s call for expanding the Security Council would undermine U.S. power and influence at virtually the only UN body where the U.S. has a modicum of influence. (See “The United States Should Oppose Expansion of the U.N. Security Council,” by Brett Schaefer, Heritage Foundation, Sept. 22, 1997.)

The only reliable ally that the U.S. has at the U.N. is Israel – which votes together with the U.S. 90% of the time. The U.S. State Department’s most recent annual report on “Voting Practices in the United Nations” confirms that most other nations have dismal records of voting with the United States. Biden’s proposal to expand the Security Council would increase opposition to U.S. interests.