US Urges UN to Nix ‘Blacklist’ of Companies Operating in Israel

The Trump administration is urging United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid bin Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein not to publish a “blacklist” of international companies with business ties to communities in Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights and eastern Jerusalem.

The U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) voted to approve the database of businesses last year, defying objections from the U.S. and Israel.

Hussein submitted a draft of the blacklist to the nations where the businesses are based. He is expected to receive a response from those countries by Sept. 1, and the UNHRC will publish the database by the end of this year.

American firms on the list include Caterpillar, TripAdvisor, Priceline and Airbnb, The Washington Post reported Monday.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley called the list “shameful” and “counterproductive” to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

“It is an attempt to provide an international stamp of approval to the anti-Semitic BDS movement. It must be rejected,” Haley said.

Israel’s Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon described the list as “an expression of modern anti-Semitism reminiscent of dark periods in history.”

Danon also rebuked Hussein for attempting to “harm” Israel “instead of doing his job,” referring to the U.N. official as “the BDS movement’s most active member worldwide.”

In June, the U.S. indicated that it may replace its membership in the UNHRC with “other means” for addressing human rights issues, unless the U.N. body significantly reforms its conduct and anti-Israel bias.

 

 

(JNS.org)