SWC Statement on UN Vote to Grant Member Status to Palestinian Authority

May 10, 2024

SWC Says that Granting “Observer State” to Palestinians Rewards Terrorism

Today, the Simon Wiesenthal Center released the following statement on the UN’s vote to give “favorable consideration” to “Palestine’s” request to become the 194th member state:

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a leading Jewish human rights NGO, denounced today’s General Assembly vote which upgrades ‘Palestine’ as an “observer state” and urges the UN Security Council to reconsider making ‘Palestine’ the UN’s 194th state.

“In effect, the General Assembly is rewarding Palestinian terrorism,” charged Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Director of Global Social Action, “and declaring to the world that mass murder, rape, kidnapping, and hostage-taking are acceptable tools to achieve legitimacy at the world body.”

The Simon Wiesenthal Center added:

• This vote contravenes the UN Charter by providing the Palestinian Authority (PA) the recognition of UN membership despite the fact that the PA does not satisfy the traditional criteria for statehood, including control over a defined territory, a permanent population, and an effective government. 

• This vote rewards the PA by the UN, despite its support for the murder of Israelis through its ‘pay-to-slay’ policy.

• No country in the world would accept such a move that rewards crimes against humanity of a neighboring people with 133 Israeli hostages, dead and alive, who continue to be held by the Hamas terrorist group in tunnels underneath Gaza for seven months. 

• We stand with Israel, the United States, Argentina, and the other countries in rejecting this resolution.

Peace will be brought about through genuine mutual recognition, not by rewarding an entity that continually seeks to destroy an existing UN member state through terror.

For further information, please email Michele Alkin, Director of Global Communications at malkin@wiesenthal.com or Erik Simon at esimon@wiesenthal.com, join the Center on Facebook, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent directly to your Twitter feed. 

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is an international Jewish human rights organization. It holds consultative status at the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the OAS, and the Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO).