New Orleans City Council Caves to Pressure from Jewish Groups, Rescinds Human Rights Resolution

On January 25, 2018, the New Orleans City Council rescinded a universal human rights resolution, R-18-5, under intense pressure from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans (JFGNO), simply because the resolution was introduced by a Palestine solidarity group which framed the resolution as a victory for Palestinian rights within the broader scope of human rights.

The Intercept quotes USCPR Executive Director Yousef Munayyer on the city’s walk-back:

“What became clear is that there were some groups who support Israel — and they’re willing to support Israel no matter what — that were threatened by the notion of human rights accountability precisely because they are very aware that Israel has engaged in the denial of Palestinian human rights,” said Yousef Munayyer, executive director for the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights. “They were opposed to human rights accountability for all groups if it meant that Israel might be held accountable for the denial of Palestinian human rights.”

“The language itself was something they were very proud to support just a few days ago,” Munayyer said of the city council. “No member of that council would be able to point today to a sentence or language in that resolution that they actually oppose. It’s not about the language in the resolution or what the resolution says.”

Read the article.