New York – Following the release of the United Nations’ Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry Report (COI) this week, The Jewish Federations of North America expressed disappointment that the commission chose to equate the actions taken by the Israel Defense Forces to those taken by Hamas terrorists. The organization took issue with a number of key components in the COI, noting the report’s flawed process and attempts to compare a democratic country with a terrorist organization.
Jerry Silverman, President and CEO of The Jewish Federations of North America, stated,
“The events of last summer’s conflict in Gaza were simply tragic, with many innocent lives lost on both sides. Unfortunately, the United Nations’ Human Rights Council has chosen to apply a false equivalency to Operation Protective Edge, comparing the democratic state of Israel to the terrorist organization of Hamas. A wide range of military professionals, along with Israeli military and legal experts, found that the IDF acted almost exclusively in accordance with the highest international standards during Operation Protective Edge.
“Furthermore, we have grave concerns over whether the COI was ever able to overcome the dubious nature from which it began. All conflicts of this nature require appropriate review, but the UNHRC has a tortured relationship with Israel, having passed more country-specific resolutions against the Jewish state than against all other countries combined. We are remarkably disappointed in the UNHRC and the COI, and we hope that future UN bodies will no longer target Israel with such an absurd and dangerous double standard.”
The Jewish Federations, collectively among the top 10 charities on the continent, protects and enhances the well-being of Jews worldwide through the values of tikkun olam (repairing the world), tzedakah (charity and social justice) and Torah (Jewish learning).