Israel and the United Nations have significantly improved their relationships
over the past few months. In July, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had a very
positive meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. Also, Israel recently
decided to participate in the UN commission inquiry into the Turkish flotilla
incident. Moreover, The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon firmly confirmed that
the Lebanese military attack on the Israeli force on Israel-Lebanon border
earlier this month was a clear violation of multilateral agreements since Israel
operated on its own soil.
Observers wonder if these events represent a
meaningful strategic change or an opportunistic ad hoc approach. Although time
will tell, a couple of important oberservations can be shared at this point with
regards to the positive sequence of Israel-UN events and their future
direction.
First, the Israeli government managed to differentiate between
the various bodies of the UN. In the past, Israel had an absolute
rejectionist
approach towards the United Nations, fighting the legitimacy of the
institution
itself and presenting its flaws and rather blind negative approach
towards the
Jewish state.
Nowadays, the government is promoting its legitimate
membership status by enhanced participation in more balanced UN forums,
such as
the Economic and Social Council, while still presenting a hawkish
approach
towards hostile and onesided forums, including the Human Rights Council
in
Geneva. Israel’s cooperation with Ban Ki-Moon’s inquiry panel on the
flotilla
incident, while attacking the Human Rights Council’s own fact-finding
mission,
proves the realistic attitude of its decision makers.
SECOND, THE United
Nations itself changed its core approach to the Middle East conflict.
The UN has
experienced a serious identity and legitimacy crisis in recent years as a
result
of ethical fiascos, failed structural reforms, such as the one in the
Security
Council, and various attempts to create a competitive and more
transparent forum
in the form of a union of democracies.
As a result, the UN Secretariat
has made a lot of efforts to increase governments and NGOs participation
and
gain legitimacy. The UN’s efforts to respond to the anti-Israeli bias
and to
avoid one-sided commissions are part of the ongoing improvements in the
relationships between the parties.
Third, the United States, Israel’s
closest ally at the UN through its veto power at the Security Council
and its
economic and military superpower position, had to adjust itself to the
rising
economic and political power of emerging economies. The recent Brazilian
attempt
to broker a deal and solve the Iranian nuclear crisis is an example for
the new
order of multilateral powers.
The now-limited US impact forces Israel to
work closer with the UN and its numerous members.
Finally, it is
necessary to differentiate between the silent and consistent majority at
the
General Assembly in New York, which frequently supports anti-Israel
resolutions,
and the UN leadership and its various agencies. These institutions
appreciate
the contribution of Israeli diplomats and experts to their humanitarian
and
economic operations. They are also well aware that their ability to
contribute
in a meaningful manner to the Middle East conflict can only be done
through
constructive cooperation with all sides involved and not by automatic
voting on
meaningless resolutions. The leadership of the UN has mentioned that
publicly in
many forums.
Globalization of technology and human forums makes political
isolation impossible. Israel has recently realized that despite its
weaknesses
and strong internal anti-democratic influences the UN is, in fact, an
important
multilateral institution that shapes public opinion worldwide, even if
does not
do so the way sovereign governments do. Israel will have to continue
investing
the right political and financial capital in order to further develop
this new
approach. Bringing the Israeli voice to the institution and
collaborating with
its economic and development agencies are just some of the ways to build
much
needed Israeli credibility.
The United Nations is far from perfect. Yet,
Israel cannot afford ignoring the UN given the current political climate
in the
Middle East. Recent changes in the relationships between the parties
have
started showing fruitful results. It may be the right time for Abba
Eban’s “Um
Shmum” legacy to be re-examined.
The writer is an international law
scholar and practitioner and the Permanent Representative to the United
Nations
of the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists.