US envoy leads protest over anti-Israeli ‘bigotry’ at UN council

In Geneva, the US ambassador to Germany leads protests outside the UN over what he terms the “bigotry” faced by Israel at the Human Rights Council, as nations weigh condemnations of the Jewish state.

Several hundred people join the protests which are largely focused on the council’s so-called Agenda Item 7, a fixture on the council’s schedule exclusively devoted to resolutions condemning Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians.

Israel is the only country with a dedicated agenda item, which is one of the main factors that prompted the United States to leave the rights council last year.

“This is not just a form of bigotry. It is a sign of intellectual and moral decay,” US envoy Richard Grenell tells the crowd.

“Like a drug-addiction, anti-Semitism is both a disease and a source of comfort” for states that habitually condemn Israel at the UN, says Grenell, who stirred controversy in Germany last year over his stated ambition to promote conservatives throughout Europe.

The protests were organized by the Geneva-based NGO UN Watch, which seeks to flag alleged anti-Israel bias within the UN, among other issues.

— AFP