Senate Unit Approves Resolution Warning UN Not to Take Any Action Barring Israel from General Assemb

A resolution warning the United Nations against any action that would bar Israel from the General Assembly was approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee by a 7-3 vote Tuesday.

The resolution, sponsored by Sen. Daniel Moynihan (D. NY) would suspend U.S. participation in the General Assembly and withhold U.S. funds if Israel or any other democratic state is “expelled, suspended, denied its credentials or in any way denied its rights and privileges in the General Assembly.”

Voting against the resolution were Sens. Charles Percy (R. III.), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Joseph Biden (D. Del.) and Christopher Dodd (D. Conn.). They supported an unsuccessful amendment by Dodd that would delete any specific reference to Israel. A spokesman for Dodd explained that this did not demonstrate any lessening of support for Israel but was an effort to give the amendment a more “broader” and “universal” meaning.

Rep. Jock Kemp (R. NY), is sponsoring a resolution similar to Moynihan’s in the House. The House will also consider another resolution introduced by Rep. Tom Lantos (D. Calif.) which warns the UN against taking action against any democratic country but does not list any specific action the U.S. would take. The State Department supports the Lantos resolution which it drafted.

The State Department also warned the Senate committee that “it would not be wise for the Admin- istration to declare specifically in advance what the U.S. response would be to a successful challenge to Israel’s right to membership in the UN.”

Both Moynihan and Kemp have rejected the State Department’s position as “unwise,” saying that the U.S. should send “an explicit message” to the UN to prevent any action agains Israel from being taken.