New York, NY, February 12, 2020 … ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today strongly condemned the United Nations Human Rights Council’s (UNHRC) decision to publish their so-called “blacklist” database of 112 companies they maintain have ties to Israeli settlements in the West Bank. The list, which emanated from a 2016 resolution, consists of 94 Israeli-based companies and 18 companies based in six other countries, including the United States. ADL had previously condemned the 2016 UNHRC resolution, stating that the database would serve as a gift for the BDS movement and an important resource for those seeking to unduly attack Israel.
“In the 70-plus years of the UN’s existence, a blacklist targeting companies with ties to disputed territories has never been published by the international body — until today,” said ADL CEO Jonathan A. Greenblatt. “The UNHRC’s decision to publish this list is yet another example of the body’s entrenched and biased focus on Israel. Indeed, the database includes companies that provide basic goods and services to those areas, including water, electricity, gasoline, bakeries, dry goods and supermarkets.”
“As we have previously stated, the blacklist will only serve as ammunition for the BDS movement’s anti-Israel campaign, and do nothing to promote constructive initiatives for reconciliation and peace between Israelis and Palestinians,” said Greenblatt. “This is perhaps not surprising, considering the UNHRC’s history of obsessively focusing on criticizing Israel while ignoring many human rights abuses and issues occurring throughout the world. By singling out Israel, the UNHRC’s actions also violate a key clause in the widely accepted IHRA definition of anti-Semitism.”
As an agency strongly committed to bilateral negotiations towards a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, ADL recognizes that the issue of Israeli settlements is complex and must be dealt with and negotiated in a serious manner. The UNHRC’s approach fails to do this, and instead only serves to undermine prospects for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
ADL therefore urges the UN Secretary General and all UN member states who support a constructive approach towards resolving the conflict to reject this highly problematic database and the one-sided approach to Israel that it exemplifies.