Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) President Morton A. Klein and ZOA Chair Mark Levenson, Esq. released the following statement:

The ZOA strongly opposes Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s announcement today that the Biden administration will reengage with the corrupt, Israel-bashing United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) – a body dominated by human rights-abusing dictatorships, which ignores real human rights abuses around the world, and instead focuses almost exclusively on passing multiple resolutions and reports each year condemning Israel – the Middle East’s only human rights-loving democracy.  

In addition to demonizing Israel with outrageous falsehoods, the UNHRC also facilitates economic warfare and boycotts against Jewish, Israeli and related businesses, by producing and updating a database each year of such business targets. (See “ZOA Condemns UNHRC Economic Warfare Against Jewish/Israeli Businesses,” Mar. 28, 2016.) The most recent (Feb. 2020) UNHRC report targeted 94 businesses domiciled in Israel, and 18 Jewish or Israeli-related business in six other nations. And instead of condemning terror organizations, the UNHRC condemns Israel for defending her civilians from attacks by terror groups such as Hamas. (See, e.g., “UNHRC “Report” by Soros-Group Board Member & Fmr. Pres. Carter Adviser Wrongly Condemns Israel for Defending Against Hamas,” Mar. 4, 2019.)

Secretary Blinken’s announcement ignores that the UNHRC has been a thoroughly corrupt body from the outset, and ignores the long prior history of strenuous U.S. efforts to effect change at the UNHRC, all to no avail. The Trump administration correctly withdrew from the UNHRC in June 2018, after U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley made heroic efforts, for over a year, to affect change at the UNHRC. (See, e.g. “ZOA Praises Amb Haley/Pres.Trump For Leaving Israel-Bashing UN Human Rights Council: Amb. Nikki Haley Has Become the “Esther” of the Haman-like UN,” June 21, 2018; “ZOA Praises Trump Admin. Boycotting Anti-Israel U.N. Human Rights Council: US Should Leave Human Rights Council,” Mar. 28, 2017.)  

Former U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley stated: “The UN Human Rights Council doesn’t improve human rights. It covers for dictators & human rights abusers like Russia, China, & Venezuela. Sad to see the Biden admin legitimize an org that has become a farce to human rights advocates around the world.”

Rejoining the UNHRC will simply give this hateful organization credibility.

ZOA praises and agrees with the letter published on Friday by 44 Congresspersons, spearheaded by Congressman Chip Roy (R-TX) urging President Biden to remain out of the morally bankrupt UNHRC. This Congressional letter documents the UNHRC’s obsessive focus on condemning Israel (with 85 falsehood-filled anti-Israel resolutions from 2006-2019); the UNHRC’s failure to condemn real human rights abuses by the world’s worst terror regimes and dictatorships; and properly concludes that rejoining the UNHRC would be morally reprehensible. (See “Rep. Roy leads 44 House Republicans in Urging President Biden to Keep America out of the ‘Morally Bankrupt’ UN Human Rights Council,” Feb. 5, 2021.)   

ZOA joins these 44 Congresspersons in respectfully urging President Biden to not seek to rejoin the UNHRC.