Remember When the UN Said ‘Zionism Equals Racism’?
Fifty years ago, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution equating Zionism with racism and racial discrimination.
Resolution 3379, which was adopted on the 10th of November 1975, stipulated that "Zionism is a form of racism and racial discrimination." Seventy-two countries voted in favor of the resolution, 35 voted against it, and 32 abstained.
Although General Assembly resolutions are usually not legally binding, their influence on the development of public international law can be significant. Further, their political echo may resound more loudly in the realm of international diplomacy than many legally binding resolutions ever do.
A memorable image of that day has remained rooted in the collective consciousness of Israelis: that of Israel's ambassador at the United Nations, Haim Herzog (who was subsequently to become President of Israel), tearing the resolution in half as he concluded his speech at the General Assembly of the UN. His speech, alongside that of the United States Ambassador Daniel Patrick Moynihan, is recalled by many contemporaries as memorable for its rhetorical power and analytical rigor.
The resolution caused a profound effect not only in Israel and among Jews worldwide, but also among many people in democratic countries. The name of streets in Israel bearing the name of the United Nations were changed to say Zionism. In the United States, citizens bore buttons on their lapels saying, "I am a Zionist."
Mexico, which had voted in favour of the resolution, was ostracized by many people in the United States who refused to visit the country.
The uproar caused by the resolution went well beyond the realms of diplomacy. The automatic coalition of Communist, Arab and Third World countries, which passed the resolution, produced on this occasion an unprecedented scenario of disgust among many people in the democratic world, who thought that the United Nations had gone beyond the pale.
Instead of operating in the diplomatic arena and attempting to ameliorate conflicts and enhance international understanding, the United Nations became the focus of sharp discord and deep animosity. Its prestige as an international institution had reached its lowest ebb. A phenomenon that would recur in subsequent years had become an integral part of its institutional personality: a combination of authoritarian and totalitarian states had taken hold of its agenda in a futile attempt to spread hatred.
A simple truth became abundantly clear: without a reputation for fair and equitable debate and adjudication, the United Nations had precious little chance of being perceived as a respectable international institution. The image of the United Nations as an international legal setting within which justice could be imparted was seriously tarnished. The tendency to settle international disputes beyond the realm of its authority was enhanced.
The United Nations, which should have conveyed a message of mutual respect and reconciliation, was suddenly identified with bigotry and discrimination.
It should be stressed: The General Assembly did not pass a resolution which could be construed as being merely hostile to Israel. The resolution it adopted equated Zionism, the national liberation movement of the Jewish People, with racism and racial discrimination, an unprecedented step. After all, it was the United Nations that had called for the creation of a Jewish state on November 29, 1947 (General Assembly Resolution 181). Israel was admitted subsequently as a full-fledged member of the United Nations on May 11, 1949 (General Assembly Resolution 273).
Israel was thus not only a geographical reality in situ, but a legal entity recognized in international law as an equal member of the family of nations. To equate Zionism with racism and racial discrimination was tantamount to claiming that Israel's raison d'etre was illegitimate. This was not only morally unacceptable, but legally incoherent.
Zionism was thus singled out, the same way Jews had been throughout history. That was the way it was seen not only by Israel and Jews worldwide. As Moynihan, the US Ambassador to the UN said, "The United Nations is about to make anti-Semitism international law." He went on to stress that "A great evil has been loosed upon the world." He was expressing the views of many non-Jews all over the world.
The Italian newspaper La Stampa called the resolution "An Anti-Semitic Verdict."
The British newspaper The Daily Telegraph's editorial headline read: “UNO's Racist Orgy."
The French newspaper L'Aurore went so far as to claim that "For men of good will the UN has ceased to exist yesterday, at 2.38 GMT."
Even the British newspaper The Guardian, known for its critical stance towards Israel, declared that "Many of the countries which provide the automatic majority on these occasions are up to their knees in racial and tribal ambiguities, but without having a democratic apparatus such as Israel's."
At the end of the Cold War, the United Nations General Assembly revoked its Zionism equals racism and racial discrimination resolution. On December 16, 1991 it adopted resolution 46/86 revoking resolution 3379 by a majority of 111 to 25 with 13 abstentions. It took sixteen years, and a changed international landscape, for the United Nations to amend its ways.
President George H.W. Bush introduced the aforementioned resolution stressing that "To equate Zionism with racism is to reject Israel itself, a member of good standing in the United Nations." He went on to state the obvious: "This body cannot claim to seek peace and at the same time challenge Israel's right to exist."
