AJC Delivers 30,000 Postcards To Key United Nations Representatives

American Jewish Committee
Friday, 6 November 1998

Mailing Represents Most Recent Response To AJC's Ongoing Public Education Campaign Urging Equality For Israel At The World Body

The American Jewish Committee today sent 30,000 postcards to key representatives of the United Nations protesting Israel's ineligibility to hold a seat on the Security Council and other important UN bodies.

The postcards, signed by concerned individuals around the country and addressed to representatives of the "troika" -- current, immediate past, and future presidencies of the European Union (Austria, the United Kingdom and Germany, respectively) -- were sent in direct response to AJC's ongoing public education campaign on this issue.

In the little more than a year since the AJC began to alert the public to this long-standing injustice and call upon them to take direct action, nearly 100,000 postcards, mail-in coupons, and e-mails have been sent directly to UN, US and international leaders urging an end to discrimination of Israel at the UN. This most recent shipment of 30,000 postcards, mailed by concerned citizens to AJC, was forwarded to Ambassador Dr. Ernst Sucharipa, Permanent Representative of Austria to the UN; Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the UN; and Ambassador Dr. Dieter Kastrup, Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN. Earlier, tens of thousands of people from around the world conveyed their messages of support for Israel to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan; former Permanent Representative of the U.S. to the UN, Ambassador Bill Richardson; and other EU representatives.

Beginning in September 1997, AJC began to sponsor advertisements in American and international newspapers and Jewish periodicals asking readers to take part in a mail-in campaign urging Israel's acceptance as an equal member of the United Nations system. The AJC's most recent ad ran in the International Herald Tribune (September 19-20, 1998) and the New York Times (September 23, 1998). AJC's message and coupons can also be accessed on its website at http://www.ajc.org, an initiative which continues to draw an overwhelming response.

Forty-eight years after becoming a UN member, Israel remains the only one of 185 members countries denied the right to sit on the Security Council and other key bodies, while all other countries, including Iran, Cuba, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria, all sponsors of terrorism according to the US State Department, are eligible.

To be eligible for election, a country must belong to a regional group. Every UN member state -- from the smallest to the largest -- is included in one of five regional groups. By geography, Israel should be part of the Asian bloc but such countries as Iraq and Saudi Arabia have prevented its entry for decades. As a temporary measure, Israel has sought acceptance in the West European and Others Group (WEOG), which includes not only the democracies of Western Europe but also Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Turkey and the United States. Here too, despite the support of several countries Israel still has not been admitted.

The AJC has been in the forefront of efforts to end this discrimination against Israel in the UN by pressing for Israel's temporary acceptance into WEOG. Since launching this campaign, numerous encouraging developments have occurred, including:

**On March 25, 1998, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called for the "normalization of Israel's status within the United Nations," including admittance to a regional group;

**On September 23, 1998, at a meeting with AJC leaders in New York, German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel informed the group that Germany supports Israel's inclusion in WEOG;

**Four additional WEOG member countries -- the U.S., Australia, Canada and Norway -- have affirmed their support for Israel's admission to WEOG; and

**On May 22, 1998, the U.S. Senate passed by voice vote a resolution, sponsored by Senators Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) and Richard G. Lugar (R-IN) and co-sponsored by 55 senators, supporting Israel's acceptance to WEOG and calling upon the Secretary of State to closely monitor Israel's progress in securing membership in the UN regional group. A similar initiative, sponsored by Representatives Steven R. Rothman (D-NJ) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and co-sponsored by 111 representatives, is pending in the House of Representatives.

In addition, AJC leadership delegations continued to stress this issue at its recent diplomatic meetings with heads of state, prime ministers and foreign minister from 49 nations, including nine of the 15 EU members, gathered in New York for the opening of the UN's General Assembly.

Further, on October 8, 1998, AJC released its newest report on a closely related issue, "One Sided: The Intensified Campaign Against Israel in the United Nations," which summarizes key resolutions on the Arab-Israeli conflict in the General Assembly's 1997-98 session and provides tables that catalogue every member country's votes.

Commenting on the public support for this campaign, AJC Executive Director David A. Harris, said: "Israel's anomalous situation in the UN stands in direct contradiction to the UN Charter, which calls for the equal status of all member states, big and small. Its exclusion from a regional group exemplifies the unfair treatment too often accorded Israel in the world body.

"AJC is determined to see the anomaly corrected. Just as we stuck with the ultimately successful 16-year-long campaign to repeal the infamous 'Zionism is racism' resolution, so shall we persevere in this worthy effort to redress a fundamental injustice."

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org