UNESCO Afraid Of Israel? They Should Talk To UNRWA And UNIFIL About Real Arab Threats

Considering the Arab attacks on UN organizations in the Middle East, I suppose one can understand why UNESCO is getting antsy--but they really should get some perspective--

UNIFIL has been attacked by Arabs in Lebanon:

UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Michael Williams on Thursday expressed concern over protests by villagers against UN peacekeeping troops deployed in the South.

"I'm very concerned about the incidents that took place and I know that the Security Council members are also concerned," he said at a news conference.

Williams, who is scheduled to brief the Security Council on Lebanon this month, said villagers staged 20 separate protests this week against UNIFIL.

The protests came during a maximum deployment exercise on Tuesday by UNIFIL.

Protestors pelted stones at UNIFIL vehicles, wounding a soldier in Kherbet Selem, some 18 kilometers from the border.

UNRWA has requested submachine guns to protect its head:

Israeli authorities have approved the delivery of four submachine guns to the main UN agency in Gaza for the protection of its head, John Ging, following assassination attempts and death threats.

The weapons were received by the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) last week after the necessary permits were issued, an Israeli spokesman said.

UNRWA first requested permission to bring in four German-made Heckler & Koch submachine guns three years ago to supplement the handguns used by Ging's close protection team, according to the spokesman. "We got a formal request five months ago, and they received the guns last week," he added.

But now, after physical threats to UNIFIL and UNRWA--UNESCO is now afraid of...satire in an editorial cartoon in Israel:

Israel's ambassador to UNESCO [Nimrod Barkan] didn't know whether to laugh or cry when a senior official at the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization called him in for a tongue-lashing on Wednesday. The reason? A cartoon published in Haaretz.

The November 4 cartoon, a riff on the government's anger at UNESCO's decision to accept Palestine as a full member, showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak sending an air force squadron to attack Iran, with Netanyahu ordering, "And on your way back, you're gonna hit the UNESCO office in Ramallah!"

UNESCO is apparently very sensitive when it comes to criticism--like its claiming that an ancient Jewish landmark is a mosque.

Israel's response?

After Barkan reported the conversation to the Foreign Ministry, it cabled back: "What exactly does UNESCO want of us - to send our fine boys to protect UNESCO's staff, or to shut down the paper? It seems your work environment is getting more and more reminiscent of 'Animal Farm.'"

I remember Animal Farm--a book about what was promised to be an ideal solution, which failed.

Technorati Tag: Israel and UNESCO.