Historically Arab members of the UN have used the General Assembly (GA) as a forum for isolating and chastising Israel.

"...the United Nations has long been a forum for political attacks against Israel ... "

With support from third-world nations, the Non-Aligned group and others, the Arab states have had little difficulty passing harsh anti-Israel resolutions through the GA. Even today, the strength of these forces in the world body allows them to continue rebuking Israel. This is demonstrated each year at the opening session of the GA when the Arab members challenge the credentials of the Israeli delegation.

For decades, the Security Council has also participated in singling out Israel by passing one-sided resolutions charging Israel with sole responsibility for human rights violations, violence and deportations. On the other hand, Palestinian and other Arab violations and involvement with such incidents are rarely criticized, or even noted by the Council.

Several UN committees and divisions of the Secretariat, which primarily serve the interests of the Arab nations that encouraged their creation in the 1970s, are also extremely critical of Israel. Among these are the Division for Palestinian Rights of the Secretariat, the Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices in the Territories, and the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. Israeli officials have termed these committees "propaganda instruments" of the PLO.

Some UN agencies have also exhibited anti-Israel sentiments. For example, between 1974 and 1987 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) instituted financial sanctions against the Jewish State,

"...this resolution was part of an effort led by a coalition of Arab states ... to delegitimize Israel ... "

passed hundreds of resolutions criticizing Israel’s activities on the West Bank, and denounced Israel’s archeological and restoration efforts in Jerusalem.

Among the most harmful UN anti-Israel resolutions was the notorious resolution equating Zionism with racism, passed in November 1975 by 72 to 35. It said that Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination... [and] is a threat to world peace and security." But more than being a response to the ideology of the Jewish state, this resolution was part of an effort led by a coalition of Arab states, and the Soviet Union, to delegitimize Israel and create solidarity against a perceived Western domination. The resolution was finally repealed in 1991, following the Madrid Conference.

Although the United Nations has long been a forum for political attacks against Israel, in the 1960s and 1970s two resolutions were passed which, in later decades, became the cornerstone of Middle East diplomatic efforts. On November 22, 1967, following the Six Day War, the Security Council passed Resolution 242 with the stated intention of providing a solution for the conflict in the Middle East. This resolution called for the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied during the Six Day War, in exchange for the "termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force."

Similarly, Resolution 338, passed on October 22, 1973, in the midst of the Yom Kippur War, called for the termination of the ongoing armed battle and for negotiations to begin between Israel and her Arab neighbors on the land-for-peace premise of Resolution 242. In calling upon the Arab states to end their war against Israel, and to engage in direct peace talks, an effective framework for the future peace negotiations was produced at the UN.