On Monday, Israel protested at the decision made by the United Nation to ban panels on Jerusalem and Arab Israelis from an exhibition at the UN on various aspects of the nation and the heritage of the Jewish people.
According to Fox News, Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon initially complained that the three panels with text and photos had been barred from the exhibition which opened on a corridor at the UN headquarters. However, the UN decided at the last minute to allow a panel on Zionism to be included, which Ambassador Danon commended. Danon then demanded that the organization should allow panels on Jerusalem and Arab Israelis to be shown as well.
Stephane Dujarric, a UN spokesman for the UN secretary-general, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that a miscommunication led the UN to prevent a display about Zionism from an Israeli exhibition at its main center in New York. The said exhibition is sponsored by the Israeli ambassador and with the assistance of a non-profit organization StandWithUS, which is dedicated to informing the public about the nation of Israel.
Danon also called the allowance of the panel a clear win for Israeli diplomacy, as well as a victory for the truth about Israel. Dujarric said in a press release that he could not explain the reasoning behind the ban of the other two panels in detail. The spokesman said the fact that the UN considers eastern Jerusalem occupied territory probably affected the decision of the Jerusalem panel. Moreover, Dujarric vowed to dig down deeper regarding the matter.
In October 2012, the UN General Assembly recognized a state of Palestine in the Gaza, West Bank and east Jerusalem, lands which Israel captured back in 1967 after WWII. ABC News reported that the Palestinians want east Jerusalem as their capital, but negotiations with Israel failed and have not been rejuvenated since then.
The panel on Israeli Arabs claims that they are equal citizens under the law in Israel, the only proven democracy in the Middle East. Israel Arabs make up almost 20 percent of the population in Israel, with more than 8 million people.
