The United Nations was established in the wake of World War II, an era marked by devastation and the atrocities of the Holocaust in which six million Jews were systematically exterminated by the Nazi regime.
The UN’s 1948 recognition of the Jewish people’s right to self-determination in the State of Israel symbolized hope and triumph over genocidal oppression. Yet today, the world body has tragically inverted this narrative, portraying Israel as a villain, while rationalizing the actions of genocidal terrorist organizations like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, which share aims akin to those of the Nazis.
This troubling trend within the UN has been evident for decades. The organization has evolved into a platform on which the legitimacy of the Jewish and democratic state is consistently undermined. Resolutions and declarations emerging from various UN bodies have often painted Israel as an aggressor while propping up and legitimizing the actions of groups that threaten both its existence and its international legitimacy.
This phenomenon is not new. Bias against Israel can be traced back to the General Assembly Resolution 3379 of 1975, which equated Zionism and racism. That resolution was shelved in 1991, but only 10 years later the highly controversial World Conference against Racism in Durban in essence revived it.
Resolutions targeting Israel have applied a blatant double standard, painting the world’s only Jewish state with a brush of illegitimacy while silencing its right to defend itself from aggression. Since 2015, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) has delivered 140 resolutions condemning Israel – far more than the number of resolutions against all other nations combined. The UN Human Rights Council, whose steering members frequently represent authoritarian, repressive regimes such as North Korea and Iran, has passed an overwhelming number of resolutions against the Jewish state, in contrast to the few resolutions that are passed against countries with notorious human rights records, such as Syria and China, whose representatives have sat on the UNHRC.
International courts have served as forums for accusations against Israel
THE UNSANCTIONED Durban conference in 2001, designed to expose and excise racism and xenophobia from the international community, ended up being a festival of hatred and racism against one country: Israel. Despite the withdrawal of both the United States and Israel over contentious language equating Zionism with racism, the “apartheid” and even genocidal rhetoric against the Jews and Israel has persisted, emboldening efforts to delegitimize Israel on the international stage.
The international courts have served as additional forums enabling accusations of war crimes and genocide against Israel and “lawfare” campaigns to delegitimize the Jewish state. In December 2023, South Africa, later joined by other nations, turned to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to make unfounded accusations of genocide against Israel. That case underscores the UN’s politicization and reflects a troubling willingness to disregard factual evidence. Even those within the UN establishment, such as genocide expert Alice Nderitu, faced repercussions for opposing the case, illustrating the systemic bias prevalent within the organization.
At the International Criminal Court (ICC), in November 2024, arrest warrants were issued for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-defense minister Yoav Gallant, claiming that they were responsible for war crimes allegedly committed during ongoing military actions against Hamas.
Simultaneous warrants for Hamas leaders were issued posthumously, somehow equating the terrorist organization that had carried out the October 7, 2023 massacre and kidnappings with the democratic State of Israel, which complied strictly with international law in its counterterror operations, preventing civilian deaths in Gaza by issuing warnings by flyers and allowing humanitarian aid to enter.
The UN must confront its biases
THE ORGANIZATIONAL culture within the UN and its agencies contributes to a distorted view of reality. Reports from entities, such as the UNHRC, have falsely accused Israel of systematic violence, ignoring Hamas’s well-documented crimes. This inversion of accountability not only demonstrates the politicization of human rights issues but also wholly disregards the experiences of Israelis.
Moreover, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA), which purportedly supports Palestinian refugees, has been implicated in supporting terrorism. Schools funded by UNRWA have been misused as weapons storage locations and as military headquarters, showcasing a flagrant disregard for the safety and welfare of children. In addition, agency schools have facilitated the indoctrination of Palestinian children with hatred of Jews and Israelis. UNRWA teachers and staff have been revealed as Hamas militants. The aid agency exemplifies how the UN’s efforts to assist can, paradoxically, fuel terrorism rather than alleviate suffering.
The political ramifications of the UN’s decisions can no longer be ignored. Former Israeli deputy prime minister Natan Sharansky’s Three Ds test to determine collective antisemitism (Demonization, Double Standards, and Delegitimization) is increasingly relevant in determining which narratives support the antisemitic eradication of Israel.
There is a pressing need for the UN to confront its embedded biases and its acceptance of jihad and collective Jew hatred. A reimagined framework must emerge, one that prioritizes accuracy, fairness, and a commitment to uphold human rights without prejudice.
October 7 has proven beyond a doubt that the UN and its associated agencies are accomplices to terror organizations, defaulting on their mission set in the UN’s founding charter of pursuing peace and defending the sovereignty of nations – among them, Israel, the nation-state of the Jewish people.
The UN is beyond repair. It needs to be dismantled, redesigned, and rebuilt, from the ground up.
The writer is president of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.