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| Modest Victory for Israel in Quest for International Meeting on Anti-Semitism | Modest Victory for Israel in Quest for International Meeting on Anti-Semitism |
| (about 19 hours later) | |
| UNITED NATIONS — Israel scored a win at the United Nations. Sort of. | UNITED NATIONS — Israel scored a win at the United Nations. Sort of. |
| Forty years after diplomats here equated Zionism with racism, the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday agreed to a bid by Israel to host a first-ever meeting devoted to the rise of anti-Semitism worldwide. Israel rallied 36 other nations to press for the meeting, which included not only its trusted allies, like the United States, but every member of the European Union. | Forty years after diplomats here equated Zionism with racism, the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday agreed to a bid by Israel to host a first-ever meeting devoted to the rise of anti-Semitism worldwide. Israel rallied 36 other nations to press for the meeting, which included not only its trusted allies, like the United States, but every member of the European Union. |
| But why now? And to what end? | But why now? And to what end? |
| The answer lies in part in who wanted this meeting and what they said. Of all those who joined Israel in calling for the special session, three-fourths were from Europe. For European lawmakers, it became an occasion to speak out against anti-Semitism at a time when relations with Israel have soured and attacks against Jews have risen sharply across the continent, including most recently against a kosher supermarket in Paris. | The answer lies in part in who wanted this meeting and what they said. Of all those who joined Israel in calling for the special session, three-fourths were from Europe. For European lawmakers, it became an occasion to speak out against anti-Semitism at a time when relations with Israel have soured and attacks against Jews have risen sharply across the continent, including most recently against a kosher supermarket in Paris. |
| “Whenever you attack a Jew for being a Jew, it’s all of us, the community of nations, who are under attack for the founding principles of the United Nations,” Harlem Désir, the French minister of state for European affairs, told the General Assembly on Thursday morning. | “Whenever you attack a Jew for being a Jew, it’s all of us, the community of nations, who are under attack for the founding principles of the United Nations,” Harlem Désir, the French minister of state for European affairs, told the General Assembly on Thursday morning. |
| France seized on the occasion to call for new measures against hate speech, including one that directly affects American businesses: holding Internet companies like Facebook and Twitter liable for words and pictures posted on their platforms. | France seized on the occasion to call for new measures against hate speech, including one that directly affects American businesses: holding Internet companies like Facebook and Twitter liable for words and pictures posted on their platforms. |
| Israel in turn used the occasion to scold European governments, with whom its relations have grown increasingly testy since last summer’s Gaza war. The Israeli envoy to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, warned of “violent anti-Semitism casting a shadow over Europe” and cited a number of recent attacks, including on the Jewish Museum in Belgium last May. | Israel in turn used the occasion to scold European governments, with whom its relations have grown increasingly testy since last summer’s Gaza war. The Israeli envoy to the United Nations, Ron Prosor, warned of “violent anti-Semitism casting a shadow over Europe” and cited a number of recent attacks, including on the Jewish Museum in Belgium last May. |
| “Europe is being tested,” Mr. Prosor said. “We don’t need any more monuments commemorating the Jews who were murdered in Europe, we need a strong and enduring commitment to safeguard the Jews living in Europe.” | “Europe is being tested,” Mr. Prosor said. “We don’t need any more monuments commemorating the Jews who were murdered in Europe, we need a strong and enduring commitment to safeguard the Jews living in Europe.” |
| The General Assembly has never before held a meeting devoted to anti-Semitism. An Israeli diplomat said Thursday that Israel was prompted to push for one in October after a spate of attacks in Europe, and that it was particularly troubled when the United Nations made no mention of anti-Semitism in condemning the attack on the Jewish Museum. | The General Assembly has never before held a meeting devoted to anti-Semitism. An Israeli diplomat said Thursday that Israel was prompted to push for one in October after a spate of attacks in Europe, and that it was particularly troubled when the United Nations made no mention of anti-Semitism in condemning the attack on the Jewish Museum. |
| The United States pushed for the session too, which the American ambassador, Samantha Power, called an important step in an organization that she said had often been “a venue for the de-legitimization of Israel.” | The United States pushed for the session too, which the American ambassador, Samantha Power, called an important step in an organization that she said had often been “a venue for the de-legitimization of Israel.” |
| She said the United States would continue to advocate other sessions on the subject in the future. | She said the United States would continue to advocate other sessions on the subject in the future. |
| In 1975, the General Assembly adopted a resolution equating Zionism with racism. In 1991, it adopted another resolution revoking it. | In 1975, the General Assembly adopted a resolution equating Zionism with racism. In 1991, it adopted another resolution revoking it. |
| “When the human rights of Jews are repressed, the rights of other religious and ethnic groups are often not far behind,” Ms. Power told the General Assembly. “The group that calls itself the Islamic State aims to kill Jews, but it also hunts down Yazidis, Christians, and Muslims of different sects.” | “When the human rights of Jews are repressed, the rights of other religious and ethnic groups are often not far behind,” Ms. Power told the General Assembly. “The group that calls itself the Islamic State aims to kill Jews, but it also hunts down Yazidis, Christians, and Muslims of different sects.” |
| (Her remarks were met with loud applause.) | (Her remarks were met with loud applause.) |
| Delegate after delegate came to the podium throughout the day, mostly to denounce attacks against Jews, but also to advance their countries’ priorities. | Delegate after delegate came to the podium throughout the day, mostly to denounce attacks against Jews, but also to advance their countries’ priorities. |
| Speaking on behalf of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation, the Saudi ambassador, Abdallah Y. al-Mouallimi, called “occupation” an anti-Semitic act and condemned what he called the words that cause both Islamophobia and anti-Semitism. | |
| Ms. Power, asked about his statements, later said the United States rejected “anything that would suggest there is justification for anti-Semitism.” | Ms. Power, asked about his statements, later said the United States rejected “anything that would suggest there is justification for anti-Semitism.” |
| A Russian envoy, Evgeny Zagaynov, denounced what he called the “glorification of Nazism and neo-Nazism,” which was a barely disguised swipe at Ukrainian nationalists. | A Russian envoy, Evgeny Zagaynov, denounced what he called the “glorification of Nazism and neo-Nazism,” which was a barely disguised swipe at Ukrainian nationalists. |
| The session came just weeks after France voted for a failed Security Council resolution on Palestinian statehood. The French move signaled mounting frustration between European leaders and the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, a point that he sharply made in expressing his condolences over the terror attacks in Paris. “Israel stands with Europe; Europe must stand with Israel,” is how he put it. | |
| Richard Gowan, of the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, called the meeting a tactical opportunity for European leaders who have taken a tough stance against Israel on the Palestinian cause. | Richard Gowan, of the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, called the meeting a tactical opportunity for European leaders who have taken a tough stance against Israel on the Palestinian cause. |
| “It’s easy for Israel to equate European support for the Palestinian cause at the U.N. with anti-Semitism,” Mr. Gowan said. “By backing this debate, the Europeans can fend off that criticism, showing that they can be tough on Israeli policies at the U.N., but tough on anti-Semitism at the same time.” | “It’s easy for Israel to equate European support for the Palestinian cause at the U.N. with anti-Semitism,” Mr. Gowan said. “By backing this debate, the Europeans can fend off that criticism, showing that they can be tough on Israeli policies at the U.N., but tough on anti-Semitism at the same time.” |
| Michael Roth, the German state minister for European affairs, said he was deeply alarmed at the attacks and slogans against Jews in Europe, including in Germany. | Michael Roth, the German state minister for European affairs, said he was deeply alarmed at the attacks and slogans against Jews in Europe, including in Germany. |
| “Scenes we thought we would never see again have become reality,” he said. “Anti-Semitism is gaining ground in a loud and aggressive manner.” | “Scenes we thought we would never see again have become reality,” he said. “Anti-Semitism is gaining ground in a loud and aggressive manner.” |
| He and his counterpart from France, Mr. Désir, dangled the prospect of new laws that would hold Internet companies responsible for hate speech. Companies like Twitter take down content when served with a valid government request — in 2012, for instance, Twitter blocked Germans’ access to a banned neo-Nazi group’s Twitter handle — but maintain that they are not responsible for content their users create and post. | He and his counterpart from France, Mr. Désir, dangled the prospect of new laws that would hold Internet companies responsible for hate speech. Companies like Twitter take down content when served with a valid government request — in 2012, for instance, Twitter blocked Germans’ access to a banned neo-Nazi group’s Twitter handle — but maintain that they are not responsible for content their users create and post. |
| “Those networks, those Internet international networks, are used to promote violence, to promote discrimination, to promote hatred and there, there is a responsibility,” Mr. Désir told reporters, taking pains to add that his government would respect free speech concerns. | “Those networks, those Internet international networks, are used to promote violence, to promote discrimination, to promote hatred and there, there is a responsibility,” Mr. Désir told reporters, taking pains to add that his government would respect free speech concerns. |
| Mr. Désir said France was weighing a new national law and would bring it up for discussion at a European Union meeting in February. | Mr. Désir said France was weighing a new national law and would bring it up for discussion at a European Union meeting in February. |
| No resolution came out of Thursday’s meeting, but the Israeli Mission to the United Nations distributed a statement, signed by 40 countries, including those that recognize the state of Palestine, such as Sweden. | No resolution came out of Thursday’s meeting, but the Israeli Mission to the United Nations distributed a statement, signed by 40 countries, including those that recognize the state of Palestine, such as Sweden. |
| “The determination to eradicate the conditions that gave rise to the Holocaust was a guiding principle among the founders of this organization over six decades ago,” the statement read. “Let us rededicate ourselves to that principle and endeavor to eliminate Antisemitism in all its forms.” | “The determination to eradicate the conditions that gave rise to the Holocaust was a guiding principle among the founders of this organization over six decades ago,” the statement read. “Let us rededicate ourselves to that principle and endeavor to eliminate Antisemitism in all its forms.” |
| Mr. Prosor also reprimanded diplomats who he said had accused Israelis of “behaving like Nazis” during the last Gaza war. “This is not legitimate criticism of Israel,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how much you are angered or frustrated by our conflict, there is no excuse for anti-Semitism — not on the streets, not in the media, not in your governments and not in this institution.” | Mr. Prosor also reprimanded diplomats who he said had accused Israelis of “behaving like Nazis” during the last Gaza war. “This is not legitimate criticism of Israel,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how much you are angered or frustrated by our conflict, there is no excuse for anti-Semitism — not on the streets, not in the media, not in your governments and not in this institution.” |