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Why the UN's Israel Obsession Should Worry Even People Who Don't Care about Israel
(Washington Post) Eugene Kontorovich - Since 1967, General Assembly resolutions have referred to Israeli-held territories as "occupied" 2,342 times, while the territories in seven other such conflicts are referred to as "occupied" a mere 16 times combined. General Assembly resolutions employ the term "grave" to describe Israel's actions 513 times, as opposed to 14 total for all the other conflicts. The UN has only used the word "settlements" to describe Israeli civilian communities (256 times by the GA and 17 by the Security Council). Neither body has ever used that word in relation to any other country with settlers in occupied territory. One country has apparently robbed the UN of the ability to address the world's many situations of occupation and settlements. This shows the double role of the scapegoat: It does not just get all the blame, but it also effectively absolves others. The UN's blindness to settlements around the world is actually the flip side of its focus on Israel. The writer is a professor at Northwestern University School of Law.