New York, NY, December 8, 2003 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today expressed outrage at the passage of a United Nations General Assembly resolution to send the issue of Israel's security barrier to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague for an advisory opinion on its legality under international law, saying that it "harms not only Israel's efforts against terrorism, but the very integrity of The Hague." 

Palestinian efforts to have the Security Council pass such a resolution were stymied, and they turned instead to the General Assembly, where anti-Israel resolutions are automatically supported by the majority of member nations.

Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

This resolution exposes the dangerous never-never world in which the U.N. views Israel.  While the State of Israel is struggling to find ways to defend its citizens from terrorism, the U.N. is more interested in continuing its bias against Israel at the expense of the integrity of the International Court of Justice, at the expense of any credibility the U.N. may have with regard to the negotiating process, and at the expense of constructive efforts to get the Palestinians to dismantle terrorist groups.  Israel will do what it has to do to defend its citizens.

 

We fear that the U.N. resolution harms not only Israeli efforts against terrorism, but the very credibility of The Hague by those who seek to abuse the process of bringing cases to the court for political gain.  This resolution opens a Pandora's box, whereby complex political issues will be quickly and thoughtlessly sent to The Hague to score immediate public relations points.