For the first time in its five-year history, the United Nations Human Rights
Council appointed an Israeli to one of its working groups.
On Wednesday
the UNHRC appointed a dual Israeli-British citizen, Frances Raday, to
its working group on discrimination against women in law and
practice.
Raday is a professor emeritus at the Hebrew University’s
Faculty of Law and has been an expert member of the UN Committee for the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women.
Israel’s Ambassador to the
UN in Geneva Aharon Leshno-Yaar said, “We are very proud of this [UNHRC]
decision. It is an honor for the State of Israel and its academicians,
especially at a time when there is a campaign to delegitimize the academia in
the State of Israel."
“While we continue to struggle against the attempts
by our adversaries to criticize Israel at the UN, at the same time we promote
Israel’s positive agenda of contributing to the work of the UN in all the fields
of life,” Leshno-Yaar said.