Defund the United Nations

When I was young, I used to be amused by the crudely-made billboards I’d see along the highways in Southern California that demanded we get out of the UN. Usually they were put up by some John Birch-affiliate, whom I would write off as a bunch of kooks.

Well, I still do think of John Birch and their conspiracy theories as lunatic (thank you, Bill Buckley, for banishing them from the conservative movement), but the sentiment of saying bye-bye to the United Nations now strikes a chord with me. A corrupt playground for dictators and tyrants, it’s also convened two of the worst antisemitic assemblies held by any national government or international agency since the Wansee conference*, “Durban I” and Durban II,” the UN “World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.” Now they want to hold “Durban III” — in New York City.

Roger L. Simon is, like any decent person would be, outraged:

To return to the langue diplomatique, these events are la vie a l’envers β€” life upside down. They are the reverse of what they pretend to be and should be labeled the β€œWorld Conference for the Promotion of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.” I attended Durban II in Geneva – you can see some reports here and here β€” and I can say personally that I have never seen anything as quite literally insane. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the keynote speaker of a human rights conference.

The whole thing virtually broke down when several European delegates walked out on the Iranian despot in the midst of one of his predictable anti-Semitic screeds (the US, despite some equivocation, had ultimately declined to go in the first place). UN officials ran and hid from the media after this debacle and you would think they wouldn’t want to repeat such a disgrace but… here they go again with Durban III this September… and in New York, of all places.

These events (I, II and, most probably, III) are basically Festivals of Anti-Semitism, and the UN membership β€” a substantial portion anyway β€” just can’t stop themselves from doing it again. It’s pathological, really. They pay lip service to the idea the anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism, but this notion has become increasingly risible. UN attention to tiny Israel (still with under eight million population β€” less than L.A. county) is nearly as big as all other states combined. Why is that? By 1992 alone there were 65 resolutions concerning Israel. By January 2009, this number rose to 225. All these resolutions are largely led by Islamic states that are basically judenrein, although many of them had substantial Jewish populations in the past.

It’s a black comic moral travesty and our money is paying for it.

The first steps should be to stop this outrage from happening on American soil: official protests (Where is the State Department on this, Madame Secretary?), a denial of funds from Congress (Hello, House Republicans!), a refusal of entry into the US for any delegates, and, if need be, public protests at the conference itself.

And, once it’s held –wherever it’s held– we should walk out of the United Nations, itself; an irredeemable, farcical organization unworthy of our time, our money, and the validation our presence gives it.

Maybe it’s time to make my own billboard.

*And, yes, I’m making that comparison deliberately.

(Crossposted at Public Secrets)

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