Transcript [00:00] Let's welcome in Hel Neuer, an executive [00:02] director at United Nations Watch. Hell, [00:05] welcome and thank you very much for [00:06] coming on today. As as we heard from the [00:09] prime minister there, he touched on a [00:11] number of topics, but overall, what did [00:13] you make of Netanyahu's speech at the [00:15] UNGA? [00:17] >> I think it was a strong statement by [00:19] Israel's prime minister. Israel is being [00:21] attacked militarily in the past three [00:24] years on seven different fronts. You [00:25] could say the eighth front is the United [00:28] Nations, the international stage where [00:30] Israel's very existence is challenged [00:33] repeatedly by the world's worst [00:34] dictatorships. Israel's leader made a [00:36] powerful statement, a powerful speech. [00:39] He called out the dictators like Turkey, [00:42] Iran, and Qatar for their funding of [00:44] terrorism, their hypocrisy. He called [00:47] out the UN, and he made a strong case [00:49] for Israel's right to defend itself. So [00:52] I think it was regarded uh by neutral [00:54] observers worldwide as a strong case and [00:56] I think Israelis at home and of course [00:58] keep in mind that Israel's prime [01:00] minister has an election one month and [01:01] obviously he was looking both to the [01:03] global audience but also to the domestic [01:04] audience and I think on both I think it [01:06] was successful for him [01:08] >> and you've been covering the UN for [01:09] years here. Uh why do you think that the [01:11] institution has become so anti-Israel? [01:15] >> Well this isn't new. It began at least [01:17] 50 years ago. Let's recall that in 1975 [01:20] the then Soviet Union which was the [01:22] leader of the anti-democratic block [01:25] together with Arab states uh pushed a [01:27] resolution through declaring Zionism to [01:29] be a form of racism which means the very [01:31] existence of the state of Israel which [01:33] was first proposed and recognized by the [01:36] League of Nations in 1922 when they [01:38] recognized the ancestral historical [01:41] rights of the Jewish people to their [01:42] homeland and then in 1948 when Israel [01:44] was uh admitted to the United Nations [01:47] that was challenged in 1975 from the [01:49] General Assembly. Since then, going back [01:51] now 50 years. Every year at the UN, [01:53] there's only one resolution on Iran, one [01:56] on North Korea, zero on most of the [01:58] world, and at least 15 targeting Israel, [02:01] no mention of Hamas, no mention of the [02:03] jihad, no mention of Abbas and the [02:05] torture that he commits, or the fact [02:07] that Abbas, who calls himself president [02:08] of Palestine, is in the 22nd year of his [02:12] 4-year term. So, why is it happening? [02:14] Briefly, you have uh countries that want [02:17] to go along to get along. They are [02:20] persuaded by vote trading. 56 Islamic [02:22] nations uh trade their votes. Vast [02:25] amounts of oil in the Arab world and I [02:27] would say fear of terrorism. Uh these [02:30] can all combined, you know, threatened [02:32] threats to pull investment, Qatar's [02:34] billion dollars of uh sovereign wealth [02:37] funds. All of these are real politic. [02:39] And I just mentioned one other factor [02:40] which Israel continues to be singled out [02:42] as the Jew among the nations. There's no [02:44] question that some Europeans, for [02:46] example, when they used to single out [02:47] the Jews for poisoning the wells. Today, [02:49] the modern form is singling out the [02:51] world's only Jewish country as [02:53] responsible for all the world's ills. [02:55] >> You point out so many challenges Israel [02:57] continues to face. And yet the country [03:00] is defiant in their determination to [03:03] stand up for its Jewish residents, but [03:05] also Christian residents, Arab uh [03:08] residents as well, those who are [03:10] practicing Islam. All welcome in Israel [03:13] to do so. Um but you saw those [03:15] delegations get up and leave. I mean, [03:18] are they even going to offer uh a chance [03:21] to listen to some of these proposals [03:23] that we've heard from BB Netanyahu? [03:26] >> Look, that's an annual ritual. There's [03:28] the ritual of scapegoating Israel in 15 [03:30] different different resolutions and the [03:32] United Nations so-called human rights [03:34] council which just met yesterday on [03:36] their special agenda item targeting [03:38] Israel. No other country in the world [03:39] has that agenda item. There's a ritual [03:41] scapegoating and the walk out is [03:43] performative. You know many of the [03:44] delegates were you know 10 or 15 members [03:46] of the same tiny country. The [03:48] Palestinians sent a memo saying bring [03:50] the entire possible the largest possible [03:52] entourage you can gather so that we'll [03:55] have a walk out. Look, the reality is [03:56] that Israel's prime minister just went [03:58] to Abu Dhabi to meet with the head of [04:00] the United Arab Emirates. Israel has [04:02] very strong relations with Bahrain, [04:04] Morocco, uh other Arab and Muslim [04:06] nations that actually care about peace. [04:08] Israel has a very strong relationship [04:10] with Saudi Arabia. It's not formal yet. [04:11] We wish that would be formalized for the [04:13] sake of peace. And as you said, [04:15] Christians and Muslims live with equal [04:17] rights in Israel. If you walk into any [04:19] shopping mall in Israel, you will see uh [04:21] Arabs wearing hijabs, not just working [04:24] there, but managing the stores there as [04:26] customers. Anywhere you go in Israel, [04:28] you will hear the call of the uh muazine [04:32] to call to prayer. So, the the [04:34] accusations made against Israel are [04:36] completely false. It's a Jewish country, [04:38] but very much a multicultural society. [04:40] There's going to be elections next [04:41] month. Arabs will vote, Muslims will [04:43] vote, Christians will vote. Not only [04:45] will they vote, they'll be elected to [04:46] positions of power. Nowhere else in the [04:48] Middle East, not Egypt, not Syria, not [04:50] Lebanon. Can you actually have free and [04:52] fair elections for Arabs, Muslims, or [04:55] Christians? Only in Israel. That's the [04:57] truth. That's the reality. [04:59] >> Yeah. Well said. Uh let me show you this [05:01] photo here that's become quite [05:02] controversial. It shows Tom Fletcher, [05:04] who serves as the head of the UN's [05:06] relief agency, shaking hands with the [05:08] Iranian foreign minister. Critics say [05:11] that Fletcher looks like he's bowing to [05:13] the Iranian leader. You say that this [05:16] when this was posted, the photo Fletcher [05:19] blocked you after this was posted. What [05:22] were your takeaways from the photo and [05:24] maybe the backlash that followed? [05:27] >> Look, that photo is published throughout [05:29] Iranian state media. They are cheering [05:32] this. This is a propaganda victory. I've [05:34] seen no explanation other than that he [05:36] made some kind of a differential bow. [05:38] You see the smile uh on the part of the [05:41] regime so-called foreign minister. He [05:43] has blood on his hands. They massacred [05:45] tens of thousands of Iranians for [05:47] protesting for freedom. The regime is [05:49] celebrating this photo. Tom Fletcher is [05:51] someone, let's keep in mind when he was [05:53] British ambassador to Lebanon, he [05:55] welcomed the role of Hezbollah. He for [05:57] the past year or two as UN relief chief, [06:00] humanitarian [06:01] coordinator has routinely echoed Iranian [06:04] regime talking points, accusing America [06:06] and Israel of harming the economy uh [06:08] worldwide. Hasn't said a word about the [06:10] Iranian regime, how they destroyed [06:12] Lebanon, destroyed Iraq, destroyed [06:14] Yemen, destroyed Gaza. He gives them a [06:16] free pass. So there are serious [06:18] questions. We've called on the United [06:19] Nations to remove Mr. Fletcher from his [06:22] position, replace him with someone who [06:24] can actually earn respect of the world. [06:26] because humanitarian uh needs are [06:28] serious. This is someone who defers to [06:30] dictators. He shouldn't be in that [06:32] position. [06:32] >> All right. Hel Neer joining us with his [06:35] thoughts on not only the photo but also [06:37] BB Netanyahu's uh appearance at the [06:40] United Nations General Assembly. H [06:42] thanks so much for joining Israel now. [06:43] >> Thank you. Thank you for having me.
