The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Why did members of Activists 4 Israel and Americans for a Safe Israel spend a cold, rainy Sunday protesting at the United Nations in New York City? Because they must! On December 28, they gathered to protest recent actions by the European Union and the United Nations regarding Israel.The group of approximately 40 protestors, holding signs, waving flags, and chanting slogans, accused both international organizations of an anti-Israel bias and of using anti-Israel rhetoric.

Recently, an EU court removed Hamas from its list of terror organizations. This decision has shocked many observers, who view this step as another concession to the growth of radical Islam in Europe.

In an example of what protesters cited as an obvious anti-Israel bias, they cited a statement by High Representative Federica Mogherini offering condolences on the death of Palestinian Minister Abu Ein. Ain was a convicted terrorist, who, in 1979, planted explosives in the city of Tiberias, which left two teenagers dead. The statement claimed Israel was partly responsible for his death, which has been rejected as totally false.

According to protest organizer Maya Friedman, the UN and EU are “rewarding Hamas by removing them from the terrorist list and voting for possibly establishing another Islamic terror state ‘Palestine’ – while condemning Israel numerous times with violations of human rights – despite Israel having one of the best records in the region. That’s unacceptable.”

According to protest co-organizer Karen LichtBraun, Israel is falsely singled out at the expense of persecuted minorities in the Middle East, “While both the EU and the UN are busy unjustifiably condemning Israel, terrorist groups are murdering thousands of Yezidis, Christians, and ‘non-compliant’ Muslims. These acts continue and we do not hear much condemnation from the EU or the UN. Israel is the only democratic country in the Middle East, and it seems to be their main target.”

Israel activist Jeremy Dery stated that any concessions to the terrorists “will only create more terrorism in an already volatile region – with rockets, tunnels, and terrorist attacks aimed at Israel.”

Dery said that he attended the event to “join the voices defending Israel during these challenging times.”