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Dannon Slams UN Body for ‘anti-Semitic’ Blacklist

Dannon Slams UN Body for ‘anti-Semitic’ Blacklist

Written by Andrew Friedman/TPS on August 22, 2017

Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, blasted the UN Human Rights Council Tuesday, following a Washington Post report that the Trump administration is pushing the world body to shelve preparation of a ‘blacklist’ of companies that conduct business in Judea and Samaria.

“This shameful step is an expression of modern anti-Semitism and reminds us of dark periods in history. Instead of focusing on the terrible humanitarian problems plaguing the globe, the Human Rights Commissioner [Jordan’s Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein]is seeking to harm Israel, and in doing so has become the world’s most senior BDS activist.

“I call on the UN, and the international community as a whole, to halt this dangerous policy and put an end to this anti-Israel initiative,” Dannon said.

The full list of companies operating in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and the Golan Heights, includes Caterpillar, TripAdvisor, Priceline.com, Airbnb and is set to be published at the end of the year.

At the time of the resolution Israel and the United States worked feverishly to scuttle the move,  but the Council approved the measure by a vote of 32 to 0 with no abstentions.

“The United States has been adamantly opposed to this resolution from the start,” said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said. “These types of resolutions are counterproductive and do nothing to advance Israeli-Palestinian issues.”

The United States joined Israel in unsuccessfully opposing UN funding for work related to the database, Nauert said.

“We have made clear our opposition regarding the creation of a database of businesses operating in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, and we have not participated and will not participate in its creation or contribute to its content,” she said.

US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley and other senior administration officials have threatened to pull the United States off the Human Rights Council over its treatment of Israel.

In June, Haley called the database project “shameful,” and repeated Dannon’s characterization of the list as anti-Semitic.

“Blacklisting companies without even looking at their employment practices or their contributions to local empowerment, but rather based entirely on their location in areas of conflict, is contrary to the laws of international trade and to any reasonable definition of human rights,” Haley said. “It is an attempt to provide an international stamp of approval to the anti-Semitic BDS movement. It must be rejected.”

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