In a first, Israel’s new Arab partner in peace, Bahrain, refuses to even show up for a biased anti-Israel UN vote.
By Yakir Benzion, United With Israel
Israel’s expanding peace with Arab countries is starting to having an effect on international diplomacy after Bahrain quietly boycotted another anti-Israel vote at the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Jerusalem Post reported.
The motion calling for an arms embargo against Israel passed 32-6, with Austria, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Malawi and Togo voting against the motion.
More significantly, Bahrain, which in the past would vote for any Israel-bashing resolution at the United Nations, was noticeably absent for the vote.
It is the first time that Bahrain had taken such an action and comes only a few months after the Gulf Arab state established full diplomatic relations with Israel.
Eight countries abstained from the vote: Bahamas, the Czech Republic, India, the Marshall Islands, Nepal, Philippines, Ukraine and the United Kingdom. However, several European countries, including Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland all voted in favor of the resolution.
Known as one of the most blatantly biased UN bodies, the UNHRC also voted for the annual motion blaming all of the Palestinian’s human rights problems on Israel, a move that was condemned by the Geneva-based watchdog organization UN Watch that monitors the UN’s excesses, especially its obsession with embracing the Palestinians and bashing Israel.
“In reality, today’s UNHRC resolution is not really about Palestinian human rights, but about demonizing Israel. Any self-respecting democracy that supports human rights should have voted to oppose this outrageous text from the PLO,” tweeted the head of UN Watch, Hillel Neuer.
Neuer noted that while the UNHRC resolution was titled “Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,” it failed to address at all the human rights violations the Palestinians themselves carry out against their own people.
“The text omitted any mention of Hamas’ systematic use of torture, oppression of women and LGBT persons, unlawful recruitment and use of child soldiers, and its arbitrary detention this year of Gaza peace activist Rami Aman,” Neuer tweeted. Aman was arrested last year, jailed and tortured by the Hamas terror group for the crime of talking to Israelis about peace on a Zoom call.
“Nor was there any mention of PA corruption, violence and threats of violence motivated by anti-Semitism, or violence and threats of violence targeting LGBT persons, and forced child labor,” Neuer added.