By: Natalie Milstein

In preparation for the Palestinian Authority unilateral declaration of statehood at the United Nations, Tufts Friends of Israel invited Mr. Hillel Neuer to address the community on the topics of the U.N.’s differential treatment of Israel and whether the Palestinians would benefit from seeking recognition from the international organization.

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In preparation for the Palestinian Authority unilateral declaration of statehood at the United Nations, Tufts Friends of Israel invited Mr. Hillel Neuer to address the community on the topics of the U.N.’s differential treatment of Israel and whether the Palestinians would benefit from seeking recognition from the international organization.

Months ago, Hasbara Fellow and Friends of Israel Outreach Chair Shira Shamir heard Mr. Neuer speak at the AIPAC Policy Conference about his role as the executive director of U.N. Watch, a Geneva-based NGO that examines the shortcomings of the United Nations human rights records in its pursuit to serve as an evenhanded international governing body. Mr. Neuer spoke of his experience intervening on behalf of the victims of Darfur, political prisoners in Zimbabwe, Russia, and Cuba, the rights of women globally, and for the cause of Middle East Peace. Friends of Israel’s Outreach Chair Shamir—who has been following Mr. Neuer’s activity with U.N. Watch for the past year—approached him immediately after his lecture and asked him to speak at Tufts University in the fall. Other Hasbara Fellows that were involved in organizing and promoting the event were Liat Litwin, Vice President Erica Feldman, Cultural Chair May Igawa, and Co-President Natalie Milstein.

On Thursday, September 15^th, Tufts Friends of Israel (FOI) hosted Mr. Neuer in front of an 80-person audience. In conjuction with the lecture were materials from the Friend Request Pending Campaign. Mr. Neuer described the Palestinian leadership’s intentions in submitting an application to the General Assembly, which include humiliating the United States, one of the Palestinian people’s greatest benefactors. He also explained that the Palestinian leadership lacks criteria required by the Montevideo Convention of 1933 to declare a state such as defined borders, effective government, and the capacity to enter relations with other States. Borders are among the final-status issues that can only be settled if the Palestinian leadership joins Israel at the negotiating table, where Israel now sits waiting for the P.A. Until that goal is brought to fruition, the final-status issues will be circumvented and unresolved.

Mr. Neuer explained that the Founding Chair of the Human Rights Commission (the predecessor of the Human Rights Council), Eleanor Roosevelt, was a friend of Israel who exemplified the original aspirations of the U.N. to creating a lasting global peace. Roosevelt would be appalled at the vilifying nature of the H.R.C. today toward Israel and its stain on the human rights record of the U.N. By laying out the double standard of the Human Rights Council with regards to Israel, Mr. Neuer effectively communicated the uphill battle the Jewish state faces at the U.N. The same bloc that voted for the infamous 'Zionism is Racism' resolution in 1975 remains firmly in place at the UN; its commitment to delegitimize Israel through diplomatic channels is as relentless as ever. Outreach Chair Shamir found it particularly powerful that “the founders were all friends of Israel, so turning against Israel is like turning against human rights.”

Ironically, the Human Rights Council is run today by governments that are the greatest abusers of human rights. These countries—including China, Libya, Syria, Pakistan, and Sudan—shield their exhaustive records of discrimination by deflecting attention onto other countries, especially Israel. Mr. Neuer stated that in this “Orwellian Universe,” sixty resolutions have been issued condemning countries—forty of which condemn Israel. However, not one resolution censures Hamas, Hizbollah, the Islamic Jihad, or Iran. These resolutions allow members of the Human Rights Council with poor human rights records to exercise the “power of shame” against Israel.

FOI communicated that students who support the U.S.-Israel relationship must emphasize the destructive role that the U.D.I. is playing by preventing a return of the Israeli and Palestinian parties to the negotiation table. The U.S.'s role in this process is undeniable, and to echo the words of President Obama's UN speech last Thursday, "any lasting peace must acknowledge the very real security concerns that Israel faces every single day."

Co-president of FOI, Daniel Bleiberg, articulated that “rather than engage in the divisive and polarizing programming that many anti-Israel groups are taking part in throughout the country,” FOI hoped to bring Mr. Neuer “to discuss the Palestinian unilateral declaration of independence through an academic context… and to present the complexities of the conflict in an effective way.”

According to Shamir, Friends of Israel was pleased with the turnout of the event: “reactions from students who came to see the lecture were also a highlight.” Students with diverse interests, from international relations to unrelated majors, were empowered to “take something new from Neuer’s speech.”

Bleiberg concluded that Mr. Neuer's lecture was “consistent with FOI's message, ‘Israel: a thriving democracy in pursuit of peace’, as he successfully articulated the Jewish state's commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict, in line with its pluralistic values.”