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Why Do Countries that Benefit from U.S. Tourism and Aid Continue to Vote Against Israel at the UN?
(JNS.org) Eric Rozenman - According to the American Jewish International Relations Institute (AJIRI), in 2016, half a dozen countries that are major beneficiaries of U.S. tourism and assistance, and that lack any policy pretext to do so, nevertheless voted overwhelmingly in opposition to the U.S. on 67 roll call resolutions in the UN General Assembly. They were the Caribbean states of St. Lucia, Belize, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Jamaica, and Barbados. On 18 anti-Israel UN resolutions opposed by the U.S., all these tourist destinations voted unanimously in favor except Jamaica, which backed 17 of the anti-Israel measures, abstaining on one. Five African countries that receive major U.S. foreign assistance compiled a similar record, including Kenya, Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. On the 18 anti-Israel resolutions, all but Ethiopia were unanimously in favor. Ethiopia voted yes 16 times but abstained twice. Countries that enjoy profitable relationships with the U.S. and with Israel, benefiting from bilateral economic, technological, military and cultural ties, should align their UN voting patterns accordingly. The writer is communications consultant at the Jewish Policy Center in Washington.