Israel’s basic interests and position at the United Nations did not change during the 37th session of the General Assembly. Ambassador Yehuda Blum of Israel told reporters here at a briefing yesterday.
Blum said, however, that it is expected that next year the Arabs will attempt again to suspend Israel from the Assembly. He added that the composition of the Security Council will be “worse” next year because Pakistan will replace Japan. Nicaragua will replace Panama and Malta will replace Ireland as part of the rotation of seats.
The envoy noted that the Assembly, which concluded yesterday after being in session for three months, opened a few days after the massacre of Palestinian civilians in Beirut and marked the first time Israel had participated in an international forum since the “Peace for Galilee” operation was launched June 6.
“The timing was not in Israel’s favor,” Blum said, referring to the proximity of the events in Lebanon and the opening of the Assembly session, “But at the end there was not a great deal of change as far as Israel is concerned. We knew that there would be a series of anti-Israel resolutions (in the Assembly), as in previous years, but all in all Israel, at the conclusion of the Assembly, is more at ease than when the Assembly opened.”
A ‘FAILURE’ FOR THE ARABS
Blum claimed that the Assembly session could be viewed as a “failure” for the Arabs. He noted that when the session began it seemed that the Arabs were going to try to use their diplomatic muscles to make up for the military defeat in Lebanon and the lack of concerted Arab reaction to the Israeli operation. But the Arab delegations did not succeed, Blum said.
“The Arabs at the UN have realized that the Palestine Liberation Organization was crushed militarily and politically in Lebanon,” the Israeli envoy said. As a result, he observed, the Arabs, in order to sweeten the bitter pill of defeat the PLO had to swallow, supported even more extreme resolutions in the Assembly dealing with Palestinian rights than they did in the past.
But, behind the scenes, it was clear that the PLO had lost ground with the Arab delegations, Blum said. “This became particularly clear in relations between Jordan and the PLO,” he said. He noted that the division of interests became evident “with the struggle and sharp exchanges” between the two sides.
DISAPPOINTED WITH EUROPEANS
Blum expressed disappointment about the attitude of the European countries toward the Mideast conflict. He said that while the European countries voted against extreme pro-Palestinian resolutions last year, they preferred to abstain this year. This was clearly demonstrated Monday when the European countries abstained on a resolution calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state under the leadership of the PLO, Blum said. He also expressed “disappointment” that a number of Latin American countries supported this year the anti-Israeli resolution on the Mideast.
Blum said that Israel was successful in thwarting the Arab move to suspend Israel from the Assembly. He said that this was possible because the United States took a very firm position against the Arab plan.
As for the role of Egypt in this year’s Assembly, Blum said that the Egyptians used the occasion as part of their campaign to return to the Arab fold. As a result, Blum said, the Egyptian rhetoric at the UN was very unpleasant to Israeli ears. “It began in April, when Israel completed its withdrawal from the Sinai. The Egyptians suddenly started sharpening their rhetoric” against Israel, Blum said, noting that the Egyptian speeches at the UN during the Lebanon war were among the sharpest attacking Israel.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
