Three Co-Chairmen of the Congressional Israel Allies Caucus have written to the prime ministers of 27 countries, urging them to vote against the most harmful anti-Israel resolutions which will come before the UN General Assembly later this year.
Reps. Doug Lamborn (CO-5), Chris Smith (NJ-04), and Steve Chabot (OH-1) joined together in this effort to persuade countries to join the U.S. in opposing the reauthorization of funding for two UN bodies which exist for the sole purpose of delegitimizing and unfairly defaming the State of Israel: the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP), and the Division for Palestinian Rights (DPR). According to the Congressmen, these two UN bodies function as key elements of the anti-Israel apparatus at the UN, employing staff to generate a regular flow of notoriously biased and non-credible reporting against Israel, yet they have been repeatedly reauthorized and funded since the 1970s. Therefore in recent years the number of countries voting to authorize and fund these anti-Israel entities has diminished significantly. Of all UN member states, Israel is the only one that the UN subjects to biased scrutiny by UN entities purpose-built to defame it.
Co-Chairmen Lamborn, Smith and Chabot are all members distinguished for leadership in foreign affairs and by their support for Israel. The text of their letter can be read here. Similar letters were sent to the Prime Ministers of the following countries: Bahamas, Barbados, Colombia, Croatia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Ghana, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Jamaica, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Nauru, Palau, Panama, Philippines, Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Surinam, Togo, Uganda, Vanuatu, and Zambia.
The Co-Chairmen also wrote to Secretary of State Blinken, urging, "We believe it is time to move more rapidly toward retiring CEIRPP and DPR and ask the Department of State to make that a diplomatic priority: to urgently press other countries with whom we cooperate to join us in voting against this harmful resolution."
Regarding the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) and the Division of Palestinian Rights (DPR), Co-Chairman Lamborn said, "These two institutions are uniquely nefarious among UN bodies, serve only to undermine the state of Israel, and undercut constructive pathways to peace."
Josh Reinstein, President of the Israel Allies Foundation, said that "It's thanks to Jewish and Christian believers, coming together to educate those who bear political responsibility, that support for these two anti-Israel entities has been dropping steadily. Now the Congressional Israel Allies Caucus is leading a push to finally get rid of them altogether. This is faith-based diplomacy at its best."