ISRAEL BASHING AMONG SCHOLARS AND THE UN

• First, the Middle East Studies Association (MESA).  This scholarly organization has been “stiflingly politicized” as it engages in Israel-bashing and blaming America relentlessly for almost everything wrong in the world.  Its website has links to the society’s many denunciations of Israel and its defense of such controversial academics as Rashid Khalidi, an apologist for the PLO and a member of Columbia University’s faculty.  At last year’s meeting in Montreal, there were 11 panels devoted solely to Palestinian grievances.  Tristan Mabry, of Georgetown University, argues that “the No. 1 issue that dominates MESA is always Israel, and even if you’re not interested in Israel, where you stand on Israel is always a litmus test.”  It is being challenged and perhaps eventually replaced by a new organization, The Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA).  ASMEA now claims over 500 members and will soon publish its own scholarly journal.  Founded by Bernard Lewis, ASMEA seeks to give a truly scholarly and balanced approach to Middle Eastern studies.  It is a welcome breath of fresh air.  (See Charlotte Allen, in the Wall Street Journal [2 May 2008].)

• Second, the UN Human Rights Council.  Begun less than two years ago, the Human Rights Council was to replace the more highly politicized UN Commission on Human Rights.  But that dream is dead.  Dominated by the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement, this new body is just as bent on Israel-bashing as its predecessor.  Further, it has included members from nations that are serial human rights abusers and it has failed to protect the integrity of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights.  It has also supported a resolution backed by Russia and China that supports the limitation of free speech out of “respect for religions and beliefs.”  The Human Rights Council meets for at least ten weeks a year in three regular sessions, plus “special” sessions, called by at least one-third of members, as the need arises.  Hence the Islamic states have used this procedure to single out Israel.  Four of the six special sessions called so far, and almost all the single-country resolutions, have been devoted to Israel.  There has not been one special session on human rights issues in China, Zimbabwe, Iran, Pakistan, etc.  The UN secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon has suggested that “I would appreciate it if the council will be looking with the same level of attention and urgency at all other matters around the world.”  How true!!  See The Economist (26 April 20-08), pp. 77-78.

• Finally, I cannot leave this issue without mentioning Darfur.  Over one year ago, the International Criminal Court judges issued arrest warrants for two men involved in the massive, ongoing atrocities in the Darfur region of western Sudan:  Former state minister of the interior, Ahmed Haroun, and Ali Kushayb, a key leader of the brutal Arab militia known as Janjaweed.  Both men are charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity.  The evidence on both men is overwhelming, including numerous eyewitness accounts from victims and compelling documentary evidence.  However, the government of Sudan refuses to extradite these men or to prosecute them.  Actress Mia Farrow and author Eric Reeves report the following:  “More than five years have passed since the Khartoum regime and its Janjaweed allies launched their campaign of destruction against the non-Arab populations of Darfur.  The savagery of the attacks upon civilians, the torched villages, mass murders, rapes, abductions and mutilations have made the word Darfur synonymous with human suffering.  More than 2.5 million people have fled from their burning homes in terror, seeking tenuous refuge in wretched camps across Darfur and eastern Chad.”  The challenge here is that the ICC has no police authority to arrest criminals.  Instead, it depends on the UN Security Council for the authority to issue arrest warrants.  But China and Russia will not permit this!  They themselves are therefore complicit in these crimes against humanity.  At the heart of our God is a concern for justice.  The ICC and the UN should hang their heads in shame for what they are permitting to continue in Darfur.  Even more serious is the complicity of China and Russia.  Shame on them for their sanctioning of such war crimes!  It is an affront to Almighty God—and the Bible tells us that He will hold these nations accountable.  See the editorial by Farrow and Reeves in the Wall Street Journal (1 May 2008).

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