New York – U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called Israeli criticism of attacks on its settlement policy unsustainable in an opinion piece published Sunday by The New York Times, doubling down on comments that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said justified terrorism.
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In the piece entitled, “Don’t Shoot the Messenger, Israel,” Ban reiterated many of his comments to the U.N. Security Council last week, when he called Israeli settlement activity “an affront to the Palestinian people” and said “it is human nature to resist occupation.”
He also called for a freeze on settlement activity. Most of the international community views Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal or illegitimate.
“Criticism of the United Nations — or attacks against me — comes with the territory. But when heartfelt concerns about shortsighted or morally damaging policies emanate from so many sources, including Israel’s closest friends, it cannot be sustainable to keep lashing out at every well-intentioned critic,” Ban wrote.
Ban wrote that he would always stand up for Israel’s right to exist, but added that “the time has come for Israelis, Palestinians and the international community to read the writing on the wall: The status quo is untenable. Keeping another people under indefinite occupation undermines the security and the future of both Israelis and Palestinians.”
Ban’s criticism was sparked by Israel’s recent approval of 150 new homes in settlements on the West Bank. In the opinion piece, Ban also pointed out that Israel has declared 370 acres in the West Bank, “state land,” which he said “typically leads to exclusive settler use.”
Unfortunately, it’s largely Israel’s fault, they don’t respect themselves, they accept the ‘labeling’ and language of the international community about being occupiers (in their own land!!), they are guilty of war crimes etc, etc, they tolerate terrorism. No wonder anti semitism and anti israel views are on the rise, when Israel shares those same views?
Mr Moon was a guest speaker at Park East Synagogue which you can see here:
http://www.un.org/sg/STATEMENTS/index.asp?nid=5818 . Has Rabbi Schneier and his synagogue no shame? Have they no self respect? Will they do anything just to drop a name?
It is time for Jews to learn from the African American leadership. If someone insults our community protest them until the world takes notice. make them crawl for forgiveness. Why invite our own nemesis?
A busha and a charpah!
It is also human nature to defend ones self from terror attacks and acts of war, Mr. Monkey Moon.
Uh – ooooooooooooooh! What did little Monkey-ban do now?
A
Batmitva Moon! Your UN give Israel legality in 1948. There was no occupation at the time. Israel was attacked purely with the desire to destroy it. Clearly documented, read your news archives. The battle has nothing to do with occupation, it is pure hatred.
The UN Financed refugee camps are a declaration of how blind hatred can distort anything. A REFUGEE camp where the youngest refugee must be 68 years old, is a monument to Arab cruelty to Arabs. These people were given lifetime restrictions in order to have a gripe against Israel.
Guy may hate Israel but he’s treading on very dangerous ground, providing a moral justification for murdering children. Today the Moslems use it, but what happens when the North Koreans start using it against his precious lansmen
I guess it’s also human nature to make fun of names like his. Buy it’s not right or polite ir even ethical.
as #1 said, because the Zionists the secular/Hellenist/Marxist ones that for now are in charge have no attachment to the land nor the Torah so they see the land as nothing more than a majority Jewish England, regardless of what this Korean says, Israel is in VERY bad shape.
swalife