WASHINGTON – Congressman Alcee L. Hastings, Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) and Co-Chair of the Democratic Israel Working Group, issued the following statement lauding the passage of H.RES.624, which passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier today. H.RES.624 congratulates the government and people of the State of Israel on Israel’s first ever appointment to chair a U.N. committee. H.RES.624, which was co-sponsored by Congressman Gene Green (D-TX) and Helsinki Commissioner Congressman Robert Aderholt (R-AL), passed unanimously out of committee.
“Israel has been considered a second class nation at the U.N. for far too long – being unfairly subjected to groundless attacks from other nations. The facts speak for themselves: 6 out of 10 emergency special sessions called by the U.N. General Assembly have directly condemned Israel, while no emergency sessions have been held against some of the world’s worst cases of genocide or repressive regimes. This is quite troubling.
“I find it even more disturbing that certain member states have chosen to use the U.N. to launch baseless attacks toward Israel, while turning a blind eye to the despicable human rights records of other states – undermining the United Nations’ credibility, integrity, and effectiveness. I laud the passage of this resolution by the House Foreign Affairs Committee and am pleased that Mr. Ron Adam has been appointed to chair the U.N. Committee on Program and Coordination. It is my hope that Mr. Adam’s appointment will help normalize Israel’s bilateral and multilateral relations with U.N. member states. I will continue to advocate for Israel to be granted membership on the Security Council in 2019 and to gain full participation rights within the U.N. – anything short of this is unacceptable,” said Hastings.
