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By Raphael Ahren: Outgoing United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday acknowledged a well-established “bias against Israel” within his organization. “Decades of political maneuverings have created a disproportionate volume of resolutions, reports and conferences criticizing Israel,” he told the Security Council, admitting that this situation has often done nothing to help the Palestinians.

And yet, in the waning days of 2016 and the Obama administration, the specter of yet another anti-Israel resolution at the UN’s most important body is again dominating local headlines. Several countries are said to be planning to circulate various drafts with different intentions, though it is unclear if and when who will propose what text, and what would happen next.

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By Ron Kampeas: President-elect Donald Trump said during his campaign he wants to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem. His nominee for ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, has said he hopes he will work from an embassy in the city.

Trump’s transition team has affirmed the intention to move the embassy, albeit without a timeline. And now, Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, in a forceful speech at Tuesday night’s Hanukkah party at the embassy here, encouraged Trump to make good on the pledge, saying it was long past due.

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By Mitchell Bard: The first semester of 2016-17 has been another phenomenal one for Jewish students across the country. While fear-mongers have been scaring parents with exaggerated claims about how dangerous it is for Jewish students on campus, the truth is that campuses across the country are beehives of pro-Israel activity that has gone unnoticed because it does not fit the narrative of Jews cowering in fear in their dorm rooms. In fact, more students are engaged in pro-Israel activity today than ever before.

While once a handful of pro-Israel groups such as Hillel, AIPAC and various uncoordinated Israel action committees operated on campus, today a multiplicity of organizations engage students from different perspectives. These organizations include (forgive me for any I’ve inadvertently left out): Hillel, AIPAC, AICE, StandWithUs, the David Project, AEPi, Hasbara Fellowships, ZOA, JNF, ADL, the Israel on Campus Coalition, Students Supporting Israel, Chabad, the Israeli American Council, the Maccabee Task Force and Christians United for Israel.

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By James S. Robbins: In his March 2016 speech at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee policy conference, then-candidate Donald Trump promised that his administration would “move the U.S. embassy to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem.” Last week, ambassador to Israel designate David Friedman said he looks forward to working “from the U.S. embassy in Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem.” Senior aide Kellyanne Conway has confirmed that the move is a “very big priority for this president-elect, Donald Trump.”

Trump’s intention to keep his promise is creating a political uproar. “Madness,” fumed New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman. It will “constitute a potentially explosive provocation,” said Rashid Khalidi, director of Columbia University’s Middle East Institute. Sheikh Ekrema Sabri, imam of Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa Mosque, said the move would be tantamount to a “declaration of war.”