The Central Conference of American Rabbis Opposes Anti-Israel Resolution Approved by U.N. Security Council

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CCAR

    Rabbi Steven A. Fox, Chief Executive CCAR

The Central Conference of American Rabbis expresses strong disagreement with today’s Security Council Resolution targeting Israel, while also affirming its opposition to the Israeli settlement policy and its support for a two state solution.

The CCAR has frequently criticized the current Israeli settlement policy as an obstacle to peace. At the same time, the United Nations is not the arena in which to address these complex issues. Peace negotiations belong between the two parties involved. Further, the U.N.’s obsessive and relentless criticism of Israel, while ignoring the unspeakable repression committed by illegitimate regimes and terrorist organizations worldwide, falsely and maliciously labels Israel uniquely as a pariah state.

For almost eight years, the Obama Administration has recognized the U.N.’s unjust targeting of the Jewish State by routinely vetoing every anti-Israel resolution heretofore brought to the Security Council. Today’s abstention, therefore, leaves us dismayed, disappointed and angry.

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Israel to Reassess U.N. Ties After Settlement Resolution, Says Netanyahu

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Reuters


Israel will re-assess its ties with the United Nations following the adoption by the Security Council of a resolution demanding an end to Israeli settlement building, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday.

The vote was able to pass the 15-member council on Friday because the United States broke with a long-standing approach of diplomatically shielding Israel and did not wield its veto power as it had on many times before – a decision that Netanyahu called “shameful”.

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Trump Says After U.N. Vote: ‘Things Will Be Different After Jan. 20th’

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Reuters


U.S. President-elect Donald Trump said in a tweet after the United States abstained in a U.N. Security Council vote condemning Israeli settlements that “things will be different after Jan. 20,” when he takes office.

Trump on Thursday urged the United States to veto the resolution.

Full Text of UNSC Resolution, Approved Dec. 23, Demanding Israel Stop All Settlement Activity

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Times of Israel

The Security Council, Reaffirming its relevant resolutions, including resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 446 (1979), 452 (1979), 465 (1980), 476 (1980), 478 (1980), 1397 (2002), 1515 (2003), and 1850 (2008),

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming, inter alia, the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by force,

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Choosing Not to Veto, Obama Lets Anti-Settlement Resolution Pass at UN Security Council

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Times of Israel


In a stunning departure from its policy over the last eight years, the Obama administration abstained from voting on a United Nations Security Council resolution Friday that demands an immediate halt to all Israeli settlement construction in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, enabling the measure to pass.

Resolution 2334 was approved with 14 member states voting in favor, none voting against and one abstention — the United States. The passage of the resolution was met with applause in the packed chamber. The text also calls on all states “to distinguish, in their relevant dealings, between the territory of the State of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967” — language that Israel fears will lead to a surge in boycott and sanctions efforts, and that an Israeli official warned would provide “a tailwind for terror.”

Egypt: Trump Convinced Sisi to Withdraw UN Resolution

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Aljazeera


Egypt agreed to postpone a vote on a UN Security Council resolution against Israeli settlements after US president-elect Donald Trump called President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Egyptian president’s office said.

Egypt had circulated the draft late on Wednesday, demanding Israel halt settlement activity in the occupied West Bank, and a vote was initially scheduled for Thursday.

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4 Security Council Members to Egypt: Push Anti-Settlement Draft or We Will

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Times of Israel


Four countries reportedly issued Egypt with an ultimatum, threatening to bring forward a UN Security Council resolution demanding a halt to Israel’s West Bank settlement activity if Cairo does not reintroduce the draft, hours after it was suddenly shelved.

in a note, New Zealand, Venezuela, Malaysia and Senegal gave Egypt until the end of Thursday to clarify how it intended to proceed, Reuters reported. They were to meet Friday morning to discuss next steps.

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Egypt: Trump Should Have Chance to End Mideast Conflict

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Times of Israel


Egypt said its president received a call from President-elect Donald Trump in which they both agreed to give the incoming US administration a chance to try and resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The call came hours after Egypt indefinitely postponed a UN vote on its Security Council resolution criticizing Israeli settlements, following pressure from Israel and Trump, who had called on members to veto it.

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Israeli Startup Promotes Three New Robots Meant to Help Soldiers on the Battlefield

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Algemeiner


An Israeli startup is promoting three new robots meant to aid soldiers in the field, Globes reported on Thursday.

One of the unmanned ground vehicles built by Roboteam — the MTGR — is a lightweight tactical robot “designed for patrol missions and intelligence gathering, and can deal with bombs as well as help protect soldiers fighting in an urban environment,” the report said.

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UK Government Official: Britain Committed to Further Strengthening Economic Ties With Israel

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Algemeiner


The British government is looking to bolster trade ties with Israel, a top UK official said this week.

In response to a question posed by Mark McInnes — a Scottish Conservative politician and member of the House of Lords — about the state of the economic relationship between Scotland and the Jewish state, Minister of State for Trade Policy Mark Price said, “The value of trade in goods between Scotland and Israel was £75 million (roughly $100 million) in 2015. This does not include services, which will make this figure considerably higher.”

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