_a.jpg "Photo: Yaron Brener")
Gillerman: A society like any other
Photo: Yaron Brener
Israel passes socioeconomic resolution at UN for first time
Where did the automatic anti-Israel majority go? For the first time in the history of the UN, the General Assembly accepts Israeli resolution unconnected to conflict or Holocaust
For the first time in history, an Israeli resolution not connected to the Arab-Israeli conflict or the Holocaust was passed in the UN General Assembly Tuesday; 118 countries supported the resolution, with 29 abstentions, and no countries in opposition.
The resolution, which originated in the UN's Socioeconomic Committee, aims to encourage states and organizations to develop improved agricultural technology and plant species for the good of humanity, especially in developing countries.
Even for this resolution, the Israeli diplomatic team at the UN had to sweat a bit: in order to pass the resolution, the team had to activate all its members in half an hour.
The Israeli diplomats at UN headquarters feel that they have accomplished something rare, given their usual need to fight against the automatic anti-Israel majority of Muslim and non-aligned countries.
Israeli UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman published an announcement in which he wrote that "this first historic resolution, which Israel initiated and presented, was accepted in the UN and constitutes recognition of Israeli excellence and its contribution to the world."
According to Gillerman, "Israel plans to continue presenting initiatives and resolutions that will give expression to its uniqueness, creativity, and modernity, and to demonstrate that we are a society like all others in the UN, which works and contributes on a whole slew of issues apart from the Arab-Israeli conflict."
