Enforcing anti-Israeli orthodoxy at the United Nations

I haven’t gotten around to commenting on this report from earlier in the week that Canada’s increasing ties with Israel and its position regarding Jerusalem have cost it a seat on the United Nations Security Council. Canada has been elected to the most prestigious United Nations body in every decade since 1948 until this one (if we include 2010 as part of the first decade of this century).
Canada lost out to Portugal after Portugal’s natural ally, Brazil, lobbied Islamic countries with warnings that Canada’s vote on Israel-related issues would be no different than that of the United States. Portugal, the argument went, would be more “balanced.”
The argument is accurate, except that it implies an overstatement of the extent to which the Obama administration can be expected to support Israel at the U.N. Under Prime Minister Harper, Canada is a reliable ally of Israel than the U.S. is right now. In fact, shortly before the vote, its international trade minister visited Israel and then announced his intention to tighten Canada’s already close trade relations with Israel.
As for Portugal, Israeli diplomats view it as among those EU nations that all too often goes with the anti-Israel flow. In addition to the Arab and Muslim states, Portugal had the backing fo Cuba and Venezuela.
Where was the U.S. while this was going down? According to the above-referenced report, we were nowhere to be found.
South Africa, which consistently voted against Israel during its last stint, will also join the new Security Council. Israel has more reason than ever not to pay any attention to the U.N. on issues that relate to its security and well-being.

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