Gerald Steinberg 2 (2)Click for full article.

[EXCERPTS]

The political war against the legitimacy of Israel and the Jewish state continues in many forms, including through the United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of Palestinian People (CEIRPP). This attack was launched in the General Assembly on November 10, 1975, as part of the same package that brought us the infamous “Zionism is racism” resolution (UNGA 3379). But while the fiasco of UNGA 3379 was repealed in 1991, CEIRPP (UNGA 3376) was ignored and continues to fuel the conflict through incitement and propaganda.

If the UN and its member states want to get serious about seeking a negotiated end to this conflict, the elimination of CEIRPP would be a good place to begin.

Officially hosted by the UN, most of CEIRPP’s activities feature a network of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that exploit human rights for political warfare and demonization. The latest CEIRPP event (April 27) focuses on “the situation of Palestinian child detainees,” featuring speakers from Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Defence for Children International – Palestine (DCI-PS) and Sarah Leah Whitson from Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The three organizations, accompanied by Israeli opposition NGOs such as B’Tselem and Adalah, have been running a campaign that exploits the theme of Palestinian children in order to demonize Israel. On April 11, HRW began a major media blitz around this theme, via a publication headlined “Palestine: Israeli Police Abusing Detained Children,” which alleges that “Israeli security forces are using unnecessary force in arresting and detaining children, in some cases beating them, and holding them in unsafe and abusive conditions.”…For those who did do some due diligence, it was clear that HRW’s claims are particularly thin, reflecting the political and ideological agenda and lack of credibility long associated with this organization. The NGO’s accusations of widespread “abuse” are based on only three anecdotal cases, a statistically irrelevant sample, and the “evidence” consists of unverifiable Palestinian allegations – a core methodological defect that has characterized HRW attacks against Israel for over 15 years.

Given the wide range of platforms used by the NGO network to demonize Israel by exploiting the language of human rights, as well as the powerful forces involved, focusing on CEIRPP alone is not enough. Other such UN venues include the notorious Human Rights Council and OCHA-OPT. However, CEIRPP — as the UN’s Palestinian propaganda committee — causes unique damage by amplifying incitement and justifications for violence, as the campaign on “child detention” highlights. Closing down this platform would significantly reduce the level of hate and send an important positive signal to Israel and beyond.