Myths and Madness in the Middle East InSight Magazine, Jewish Policy Center December 29, 2016 https://www.jewishpolicycenter.org/2016/12/29/myths-madness-middle-east/ In the aftermath of UNSC Res. 2334, criticism has come from Right and Left, in America and Israel. Defenders of the decision by the U.S. to abstain, and the vote in favor by Israel’s other supposed allies in the free world, France, Britain, New Zealand, Spain and Japan, suggest it’s just another statement opposing Israel’s “settlements.” But this goes far beyond disapproval of Israel building Jewish communities in the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria (the “west bank” of the Jordan River). As many have argued, the labelling of these communities as having “no legal validity”, in spite of treaties and other instruments of international law (such as the UN Charter, UNSCR 242, and the Oslo Accords), and the inclusion of Jerusalem, has altered the political, legal and even moral framework in which efforts to ...
