Israeli Civilian Tells the UN Security Council About Living Under Daily Terrorist Threats

On December 18th, the United Nations Security Council held its periodic meeting on the Middle East, focusing on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. With few exceptions, the discussion was full of Israel-bashing and short on condemnations of Palestinian terrorists. Most of the speeches placed Israeli settlements front and center as a “flagrant” violation of “international law” and the primary obstacle to peace. Palestinian assaults on Israeli civilians and the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields were mentioned, if at all, as afterthoughts. However, there was one refreshing difference in this go-around. In her capacity as president of the Security Council for December, U.S. Ambassador Kelly Craft invited Adele Raemer, a resident for several decades at a Kibbutz very close to Gaza, to address the Council. This was the first time an Israeli civilian, living every day in fear near the border with Gaza, spoke to the Security Council about the human suffering that she and her family shared with their fellow Israeli civilians at the hands of Palestinian terrorists.