State Department Pleased That Itu Rejected Move to Suspend Israel

The State Department said it was pleased that the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) at its meeting in Nairobi, Kenya rejected a resolution to suspend Israel from its conference. An Arab inspired resolution sought to exclude Israel from all activities of the organization “as long as Israel does not fulfill its international obligations.”

The United States had threatened to walk out of the conference if Israel was suspended. Secretary of State George Shultz made it clear last week, while the resolution was pending, that the U.S. would, in addition to walking out of the conference, also withdraw its funds from the ITU. The exclusion of Israel from that UN body would be “contrary to the principles of the UN,” Shultz said.

State Department spokesman John Hughes said last Friday that the U.S. was “gratified” that the ITU had dropped “the unwarranted challenge to Israel’s participation in the United Nations system.” The U.S., however, voted against an amended version of the resolution because it was “objectionable and unbalanced,” Hughes said.

The amendment, which was adopted by a vote of 84-31 with 13 abstentions, condemned the “continuing violation by Israel of the international law and the massacres of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians.” The amendment was sponsored by Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway and England.

Hughes said that since Israel’s rights in the ITU are no longer in jeopardy, the U.S. will continue to participate in the conference. But he reiterated the U.S. warning that it would leave and cut off funds from any UN agency that would deny Israel the right to participate. The U.S. provides $3.2 million, or seven percent of the ITU’s current $46 million budget.