15 November 2005:
Will Reforms at the United Nations Lead to a Review of the Influence of Politicized NGOs?

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Summary: Significant reforms and re-examination of UN procedures and policies are taking place, with widespread implications for links between this body and the influential NGO network. Although the anti-Israel bias in the UN has been less pronounced in 2005 (see Warren Hoge, "U.N. Is Gradually Becoming More Hospitable to Israel", New York Times, October 10, 2005), the pro-Palestinian agenda, propelled by the NGO network remains strong.

The United Nations, with the involvement of the NGO network, has contributed significantly to the delegitimization and demonization of Israel on the international scene, exemplified by the 2001 Durban conference. AJIRI’s July 2005 report entitled "The Worldwide Propaganda Campaign Against Israel, Sponsored and Funded by the United Nations", demonstrates that "a UN-sponsored anti-Israel propaganda apparatus directed from an office in the UN Secretariat functions year-round and worldwide. This anti-Israel apparatus has created a comprehensive program to de-legitimize Israel -- all of it bearing the imprint of the UN and paid for by the UN." The report notes that anti-Israel bodies of the UN are authorized to “create a network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to organize additional anti-Israel activities, provide a special pro-Palestinian Website (UNISPAL) and orchestrate an annual ‘International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People’ at which Israel is singled out for condemnation.”

• "The Worldwide Propaganda Campaign Against Israel, Sponsored and Funded by the United Nations", American Jewish International Relations Institute, July 2005
  
• Updated October 2005: "How UN Bodies Undermine Chances for Middle East Peace: Operations of the United Nations Anti-Israel Propaganda Apparatus During the 59th Session of the UN General Assembly: September 2004-August 2005 (PDF)"
  

The October 2005 report by the American Jewish International Relations Institute (AJIRI) focuses on “the UN’s in-house anti-Israel propaganda apparatus and the monthly Israel-bashing events sponsored by the UN throughout the year”, in which radical NGOs play a major role. Noting that the proposed 2006-07 UN budget projects the “recruitment of another 30 NGOs”, the report concludes: “A careful analysis of recent UN actions that have been cited as evidence of a more hospitable attitude toward Israel at the UN shows that these actions fall into the ‘theatrical’ category. By contrast, during the same time period, the UN continued its incessant anti-Israel activities and destructive propaganda campaign in the real world, as documented in the recent AJIRI report.”

• "Regrettably, the UN Remains Inhospitable to Israel", American Jewish International Relations Institute, October 2005
  

On October 18, US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton testified before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the issue of reform in the world body. In his statement, Amb. Bolton referred to the UN's "three offices on Palestinian affairs that, given developments between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, we think now are outdated."

• "Extracts on UN reform, including relations with pro-Palestinian NGOs, from US Ambassador to the UN Bolton's Testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee", October 18, 2005