By Arye Green/TPS • 21 November, 2019
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday assailed the United Nations (UN) for its mistreatment of Israel, calling its discussions on Israel anti-Semitism disguised as human-rights discourse.
“The UN was born out of the horrors of WWII, out of an ethos of never again. An institution born to do so much good has allowed anti-Semitism to seep into its deliberations, all under the language of human rights, and we are not buying that, my government is not buying that,” he said.
Morrison made the remarks at a ceremony in Sydney in which he was awarded the Jerusalem Prize by the Zionist Federation of Australia, the Zionist Council of New South Wales and the World Zionist Organization.
The prize is awarded annually to an individual who has been “exceptional in strengthening Australia-Israel relations.”
The Australian premier said his government is “taking a strong stand against the targeting of Israel at the UN general assembly.”
“We know the character of our friend Israel and we stand with our friends. Under this government, we’ve set up trade and defense offices in west Jerusalem to deepen our ties on trade and defense industries,” he said.
Morrison received the Jerusalem Prize for his stance against the UN’s mistreatment of Israel and his pledge to “recognize west Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.”
President of the Zionist Federation of Australia, Jeremy Leibler, said that Morrison made significant steps towards cementing Israel’s connection to its capital Jerusalem.
“The Prime Minister recognized west Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and established a trade and defense office in the city. He also changed Australia’s voting pattern at the UN General Assembly, including now voting against the insulting resolution that declares as ‘null and void’ any Jewish claims to Jerusalem,” he said.
