Head of Jewish NGO Banned From United Nations: Ability of Palestinians to Control UN Offices is “Shocking”
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Anne Bayefsky Breitbart.com Israel-Palestine Jewish NGO Mahmoud Abbas UN Bid PA UN Bid Palestinian Apartheid Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni Touro Institute UN Division for Palestinian Rights UN Pass Office
Breitbart.com reported earlier today that the UN Division for Palestinian Rights sent a letter to the UN pass office yesterday asking it to withdraw passes that were issued to the UN-accredited Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust.
The passes had already been printed and handed to 23 Jewish young adults who were part of an educational program associated with the Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni community. After receiving the Palestinian branch’s demand, UN security officials insisted on their return. Breitbart.com writes, “The Jewish group had requested passes for November 29, 2012 to attend separate events: the ‘UN Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People’ in the morning and the General Assembly debate on ‘The Question of Palestine’ which commences at 3 p.m. in the afternoon.”
“The successful ability of the UN Division for Palestinian Rights to control the UN security and pass offices and NGO office is shocking. It is incredible that we were given passes and then ordered to return them because UN Palestinian secretariat officials specifically objected to our presence. It is unbelievable that the Palestinian secretariat can effectively bar access to the General Assembly while packing the Hall with a hundred hand-picked anti-Israel groups and individuals. This is the real face of apartheid Palestine,” said Anne Bayefsky, director of The Touro Institute in an email to The Algemeiner.
In a letter, the DPR claimed that the NGO had “bypassed” the Division registration process, which in fact was false. The Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni completed individual registration forms and submitted them, and were sent letters of acceptance.
Breitbart.com writes: “The DPR claimed that the NGO ‘is not accredited to the Palestinian Rights Committee and has not received an invitation to attend the morning meeting.’ In light of the fact that the meeting is advertised on the UN website itself as open to all NGOs, a lack of accreditation by this particular committee or special directed invitation was never a condition of attendance.”
When confronted with the fact that the letter was public knowledge it claimed that the NGO “has proved disruptive and negative in the past.”
“We actually have the hard-evidence of exactly why they kept us out – the letter from the Director of the Division for Palestinian Rights to the NGO and security-pass offices. We were deemed “disruptive and negative” by the UN Division for Palestinian Rights which has spent more than three decades demonizing Israel and attempting to destroy through lethal politics the Jewish state,” Bayefsky said.
“They want to pretend that the outburst of wildly enthusiastic applause – which can be expected from the General Assembly Hall after the vote to upgrade the status of “Palestine” – is spontaneous and universal. The question is whether the foreign media will buy it,” she added.
She also says that thus far requests for a reversal of the decision have proved fruitless.”We have been kept out. We have reached out to the U.S. UN mission as we are an American accredited NGO, and they said they would look into it; the morning meeting is almost finished, this afternoon is just hours away and we have heard nothing back.”
United Nations Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary General Farhan Haq, who currently covers matters relating to the Middle East did not immediately respond to The Algemeiner’s request for comment.
UPDATE: Associate Spokesperson for the Secretary General Farhan Haq sent the following comment to The Algemeiner denying that members of the Jewish NGO were banned: ”UN security did not bar invited guests from a UN meeting. This was a meeting of the Palestinian Rights Committee and NGOs accredited with the Committee have priority access, especially when the room is filled to capacity. As for the NGO that said they were not able to attend, we have checked and that group did not register to attend.”
2:26 pm
I think it is time to get rid of the United Nations. I remember when it was started and it is not living up to its promise.
1:51 pm
This is very shocking, but not surprising knowing the sordid history of the U.N. and the State of Israel. I have heard Susan Rice is very pro-Palestine; and that does not help Jews anywhere. I hope that all Jews reading this; will get their heads out of the sand re Anti-Israel/Anti-Semitic sentiments. These are fine young people, who are there to learn about International Diplomacy, as well as observing the process of the U.N. and, of course the issue of Israel and her Palestinian neighbors.
I also read about Alanis Morisette being condemned by PA for performing in Israel; they want to construct a cultural barricade that would discourage American/Canadian artists from visiting Israel. We also learned recently about the sad events taking place in Hungary. This is real serious folks.
11:18 am
Let us not forget brethren,
To pay tribute to the astute visionaries orchestrating the velvet glove of time. Via the auspices of social engineering, as history cures the ripeness of our convictions, while remembering what Albert Einstein said, of the institutions parading before us, which are set for our purposes, until the fullness of their time, to wit:
“The United Nations is an extremely important and useful institution provided the peoples and governments of the world realize that it is merely a transitional system toward the final goal, which is the establishment of a supranational authority vested with sufficient legislative and executive powers to keep the peace.”
Most graciously ‘In Honor We Trust’
10:54 am
The UN is well past its use by date. It’s really time we as individuals refused to pay that element of our taxes that is given to the UN to keep it afloat.
7:59 am
Farhan Haq (an obviously Muslim name) is obviously disingenuous… Trying to sweep the issue under the rug… How lame can you get?!…
UN = Useless Nations…
7:35 am
The UN’s name should be changed to the UAN – United Arab Nations. They only support Arab issues, don’t give a damn about any other country in the world and have proven themselves totally useless to the issue of world affairs.
According to the UN’s record, Israel is apparently the ONLY country in the world that needs is problematic or about which there is something to discuss, while every other country is quiet, peace loving, loves its citizens and is humane has no problems at all.
What a useless organization the UN has shown itself to be and the world keeps supporting it. The UN should be ashamed of itself and so should the countries around the world who keep falling for the Arab propaganda that is spewed there.
1:00 am
I am reminded that there was a time when Jews were not allowed to own property.
Now, Jews may own property but there is equivalent prejudice towards Jews having a state.
11:55 pm
I would suggest attending with bombs strapped to people but that would be too too arch even for the UN.
11:34 pm
there is no difference between the United Nations and the National Socialists when it involves the Jews and.Israel. As Winston Churchill said in 1948 in The Gathering Storm: MEIN KAMPF was the new KORAN.
10:52 am
Glad to see someone got it the right way round!
10:08 pm
And this is the international organization that is kept afloat with $US! With its majority control by Islamic states and their supporters, it’s impossible for Western democracies like Israel to ever get a fair deal there.
It certainly is a far cry from the peace-loving forum envisioned by its WWII founders!