Yehudo Blum, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, sharply criticized the performance of Secretary General Kurt Waldheim who, he charged today, lacked “moral leadership,” adding the Secretary General, instead of taking issue with the “majority of totalitarian regimes” at the UN which vote for resolutions deviating from its Charter, carries out those resolutions.
While Israel has in the past had differences of opinion with Waldheim and has criticized some of his actions, Blum’s remarks today were the most outspoken attack ever made by an Israeli envoy on the Secretary General. Blum spoke as the guest Believe,” a private, non-profit organization that describes itself as serving the business community as liaison to the UN and its specialized agencies.
The group is accredited to the UN’s department of public information and to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. It describes its activities as channeling information, opinion and suggestions to the UN from the American business, industrial and labor communities. Blum’s audience today included about 20 senior executives of American companies, among them the Belco. Petroleum Corp., Dannon Milk Products; Bond Industries; Bloomingdale Bros., the Independent Savings Bank; and others.
UN RULED BY DICTATORSHIPS
The Israeli Ambassador claimed that the UN is in a constant state of decline and charged that the UN today is ruled by a majority of countries which he characterized as dictatorships. At the same time, he said, the minority of its members of the free world actually finance the world organization. He contended that the UN consistently departs “from its principles and its Charter.”
Blum warned that as long as the UN is ruled by a “majority of totalitarian regimes I don’t see how the situation can be altered.” He noted, however, that the UN is extremely sensitive to public criticism in the free world, especially from the U.S. and from independent groups.
He pointed out that countries of the free world at the UN face problems when they try to form a united front against the majority because “the energy crisis is very much reflected in what is going on in this organization.” Therefore, he said, the free countries of the West do not want to antagonize their oil sources.
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.
