The General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted a resolution yesterday by a vote of 49-25 with 22 abstentions condemning Israel for its West Bank settlements policy, its “inhuman treatment” of detained Arabs, refusal to allow the return of “refugees,” and for its policies in south Lebanon. The entire Western bloc voted against the resolution and many delegates from African countries stayed away during the voting in order not to have to vote for the resolution.
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency was told that the Arabs found it more difficult this time to convince WHO members to vote against Israel and to politicize the organization. This year’s resolution was adopted with a far smaller majority than in the two previous years. The big blow to the Arab lobby was its failure to get the WHO regional offices for the Middle East transferred from Alexandria, Egypt to Amman, Jordan. The African countries in particular were reported as growing tired of Arab efforts to politicize WHO.
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.
