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.
In her address, delivered via video from Israel, Ms. Raemer asked the Security Council: "Have you ever had to run for your life?” She described her daily routine of having to do just that, explaining that when she hears the early warning alert for incoming rockets she knows that she has between 5 to 10 seconds to get to a safe place.
“During the 11 rounds of escalated rocket fire that we have had in the past year and a half,” Ms. Raemer said, “there were numerous alerts every single day. 1,800 rockets were launched at our communities during this period. What would any of you do if this number of projectiles was launched over your border?"
Addressing Hamas' tunnel network, she called it "sinister and frightening, built with a complex infrastructure for communications and electricity that was developed solely for purposes of death. Can you imagine how our children feel when they know that terrorists could come bursting through a tunnel under our community at any time? The rate of people seeking psychological aid in our region has risen 231% in the past five years...over half have been children."
Adele Raemer spoke from the heart about her own personal tribulations. Yet she still expressed cautious optimism, describing where she lived as 95 percent paradise and 5 percent hell. The “hell” part, she said, was created by Hamas and its other Palestinian terrorist brethren. “Luckily for me, my government builds us safe rooms,” she said. “Hamas, on the other hand, builds safe rooms to protect their weapons. Hamas brings Gazans to border riots to lose limb or life. Hamas aims rockets at Israeli civilian communities from within schools, mosques and homes, knowing full well that the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] is reluctant to retaliate, knowing that civilians can be harmed.” She added, “I hold Hamas responsible for finding a way to stop investing in terrorism, incitement and hatred and start making choices for the people of Gaza to thrive and prosper.”
Ms. Raemer asked the Security Council members to act against the Palestinian terrorists, saying "We all need to be able to raise the next generation to respect our neighbors, not fear them."
Aside from some terse thank-you’s, virtually all the Security Council members listening to Ms. Raemer’s remarks appeared indifferent to what she had to say. To her credit, Ambassador Kelly Craft, who had invited Ms. Raemer to speak, was a notable exception. She commented: "Far too often we talk about this issue without talking about the human impact from Gaza. This council seems unwilling or unable to see the reality that Israelis live in constant fear of attack. In place, the council tolerates an endless string of condemnations of Israel. I have said before and will say again today, Israel has no better friend than Kelly Craft."
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Ambassador Craft continued: "While Israel’s poor treatment in the UN venues is now so commonplace as to become unremarkable, what truly is remarkable is the resilience of the people of Israel. Because despite living among the echoes of rocket fire, the people of Israel promote and defend freedom. They build universities, they win Nobel prizes, and conduct innovative research. Israel is a gleaming light for the world. Is it to be condemned? No. It is to be emulated. It is this spirit of determination, of resilience in the face of threat, that keeps alive the hope for a peaceful solution – a solution that promotes and protects the security of Palestinians and Israelis alike. But this is a solution that will only be forged when the two parties can return to the negotiating table. And for that to happen, this Council, and the parties in question, must take more seriously the threat of violence from Gaza – especially from Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”
Ambassador Craft denounced the infamous Security Council Resolution 2334, which declared that “the establishment by Israel of settlements in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem, has no legal validity and constitutes a flagrant violation under international law.” The Obama administration abstained, allowing this disgraceful anti-Israel resolution to be adopted on December 23, 2016. Ambassador Craft made it clear “had I been the Ambassador at the time of the vote on the resolution, I would have vetoed it.”
Nikki Haley, when she was the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, made the same point about Resolution 2334. “Given the chance to vote again on Resolution 2334, I can say with complete confidence that the United States would vote ‘no,’” she said. “We would exercise our veto power.”
Ambassadors Haley and Kraft have shined the light of truth on Palestinian terrorism as the major obstacle to peace. Adele Raemer put a human face on the toll that this terrorism has taken on everyday life. Unfortunately, even in this season of light, the United Nations remains a dark place in which anti-Semitism in the form of relentless bashing of the Jewish State is too often allowed to flourish.
Adele Raemer's address to the UN Security Council Dec 2019
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.
