The hypocrisy of the United Nations

As a child, I learned that the United Nations was created to promote peace on earth, protect the innocent, and prevent atrocities. The United Nations existed to shield the vulnerable from harm, stand against evil, and ensure justice for all. However, as an adult, I have seen a different reality — one in which the U.N. selectively protects certain women, children, and adults it deems worthy of protection.  This hypocrisy raises its head specifically in its treatment of Israel.

I have recently seen this firsthand as a Hadassah representative to the U.N. Women’s Commission on the Status of Women (March 12-21 at the U.N. in New York). Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America, has a place as a non-governmental organization at the U.N., and Hadassah has been a staunch supporter of Israel and Israeli women in its statements on the U.N. I met other women representing many other organizations when I was there. The Simon Wiesenthal Center held a session, and so did the National Council of Jewish Women. Hadassah held a session on Zoom.

As Carol Ann Schwartz, Hadassah’s national president, said in January, “Building upon our legacy of strong advocacy, Hadassah leaders and members continue to stand up for Israel at the United Nations and to make our voices heard … in combating rising antisemitism and improving women’s health.”

I witnessed the bias against Israel firsthand at the CSW69. The disparity was clear in the event programming, with only a handful of sessions dedicated to the rape, torture, kidnapping, and murder of Israeli women and children on October 7. In contrast, there were numerous events supporting the women of Gaza and Palestine.

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My Hadassah colleagues and I attended a session sponsored by the World Jewish Congress called, “Women, Conflict, and Peace: A Universal Feminist Vision.” This session highlighted the atrocities committed against Israeli women and children on October 7.

We heard from Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, and the Israeli minister for social equality and women’s empowerment, May Golan. They reminded us that U.N. Women (the U.N. organization dedicated to promoting gender equality and empowering women globally) has not stood with Israeli women. They reminded us that the U.N. has never made a statement completely condemning Hamas. Their message was clear: “Silence is support” and the world needs “moral clarity,” not “selective outrage.”

The U.N. holds a double standard when it comes to Israel. The failure to stand with Israeli women contradicts its own mandates. U.N. resolution 1325 advocates “to ensure increased representation of women at all decision-making levels in national, regional and international institutions for the prevention, management, and resolution of conflict.”

The problem with this resolution is that it doesn’t include Israeli women. Women, in general, still don’t have parity with men on the international stage, and Israeli women are regularly excluded.

This past year, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the U.N. Special Advisor for the Prevention of Genocide, was removed from her position. Her only apparent offense was refusing to call the war in Gaza a genocide. Rather, she correctly stated that Israel’s actions do not meet the U.N. definition of genocide because self-defense does not constitute genocide.

The sole reason the IDF entered Gaza was in self-defense, to defeat Hamas and rescue our hostages after the massacres and kidnapping that occurred on October 7. If the U.N. were consistent in its application of its own genocide definition, Hamas would be the entity under scrutiny, not Israel.

It is my opinion that she was removed because she was not respected as a woman. It did not matter that she was upholding the U.N. definition because she was not abiding by the male-dominated narrative promoted by Hamas and the majority of the U.N.

On Tuesday, I participated in a town hall meeting with the U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres, who talked about promoting women’s equality and upholding the Beijing proclamation of 1995, a progressive blueprint for advancing women’s rights. He claimed to stand for all women. Yet when the final question was brought to him, on when we would see a woman as the U.N.’s secretary general, his response was patronizing and dismissive.

He placed the responsibility on the women to make it happen and he did not give his opinion on how to get the men in power to stand up for women. It was not a positive response to an important question.

I next attended a session on Gaza, called “Women in Gaza 4Dignity.” I wanted to hear directly from those affected. What I heard was extremely disturbing.

While I can acknowledge that life for women in Gaza is extremely difficult, I do not put the onus on Israel for making their lives miserable. The destruction of Gaza’s medical system, the lack of women’s rights, and the economic struggles are largely the result of Hamas’s rule and the systemic oppression of women within their own culture and religion.

Speaker after speaker repeated the same tired mantra: “Occupation” caused all their problems. They blamed the “heinous” war on Israel — not Hamas, who started this war on October 7. They blamed Israel for their “forced migration… and forced hunger.”  As well as claiming that Israel was committing “violations of international law… and injustice,” no speaker ever recognized Hamas’s role in the suffering.

One of the most impactful moments of the conference was on Tuesday, March 12,  when May Golan, Israel’s minister for social equality and the advancement of women, addressed U.N. Women. She stood up to the U.N.’s silence about the sexual violence committed against Israeli women. She said that Israeli women deserve the respect and support that all women deserve. She ended her remarks with “From the River to the Sea, Jewish Women Will Be Free.”

Rather than engaging in dialogue, according to the Jerusalem Post, all the women representing Arab countries left the hall when May Golan spoke. They refused to show respect and listen to an Israeli woman at the U.N. CSW69. They didn’t want to hear anything that departed from their own narrative. They had no interest in developing mutual understanding or solidarity. They only wanted to maintain their one-sided narrative.

Change won’t happen with this attitude and behavior. The U.N. has departed from its mission when it comes to Jews and Israel. We must all advocate for Israeli women and Jewish women. We must protest about what has been happening at the U.N. for decades. The one-sided narrative and biased viewpoint need to be exposed and eradicated. It is past time for the U.N. to abide by its own mandate.

The Commission on the Status of Women was commemorating Beijing 1995 when Hilary Clinton famously said: “Women’s Rights are Human Rights.”

True progress will come only when the U.N. applies its principles fairly and recognizes that all women — including Israeli women — deserve dignity, respect, and protection.

Stephanie Z. Bonder of West Caldwell, MA. Ed. is a Jewish educator who teaches throughout the MetroWest community and the National Hadassah network. She is continuing her educational journey by pursuing a masters in Jewish education from the Melton Hebrew University School of Education.