Ban meets with AJCommittee

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with American Jewish Committee leaders. Tuesday’s meeting focused on plans for peace in the Middle East, as well as Israel’s treatment at the United Nations. “We welcomed the opportunity to engage Secretary-General Ban in a discussion of Middle East issues of utmost concern to the international community,” AJCommittee Executive Director David Harris said. “We were impressed by his deep commitment to advancing the search for peace in the region and his keen understanding of the challenges that need to be addressed in order to achieve progress.” Among topics discussed in the 45-minute meeting were the recent Arab League summit in Riyadh, Ban’s recent visit to Israel and efforts to implement U.N. resolutions in Lebanon, including Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended last summer’s war between Israel and Hezbollah. The resolutions calls for Hezbollah to be disarmed and for the Lebanese government to assert its control in the south of the country. Ban also acknowledged the U.N. Human Rights Council’s obsessive focus on Israeli actions.