[<<Trump had threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that voted in favor. A total of 128 countries backed the resolution, which is non-binding, nine voted against and 35 abstained. Twenty-one countries did not cast a vote.>>
(Excerpted from the report at sl. no. I below.) The US apparently never stood so much isolated in the international arena, at least since the Vietnam War, as is the case now under Trump. Not even during the Iraq War.] I/III. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-israel-un/defying-trump-over-120-countries-at-u-n-condemn-jerusalem-decision-idUSKBN1EF2D5 DECEMBER 21, 2017 / 10:48 PM / UPDATED 5 HOURS AGO Defying Trump, over 120 countries at U.N. condemn Jerusalem decision Michelle Nichols 6 MIN READ UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - More than 120 countries defied President Donald Trump on Thursday and voted in favor of a United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for the United States to drop its recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. ***Trump had threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that voted in favor. A total of 128 countries backed the resolution, which is non-binding, nine voted against and 35 abstained. Twenty-one countries did not cast a vote.*** [Emphasis added.] Trump’s threat appeared to have some impact, with more countries abstaining and rejecting the resolution than usually associated with Palestinian-related resolutions. Nevertheless, Washington found itself isolated as many of its Western and Arab allies voted for the measure. Some of those allies, like Egypt, Jordan and Iraq, are major recipients of U.S. military or economic aid, although the U.S. threat to cut aid did not single out any country. A spokesman for Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called the vote “a victory for Palestine.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the vote. Earlier this month, Trump reversed decades of U.S. policy by announcing the United States recognized Jerusalem - home to major Muslim, Jewish and Christian holy sites - as the capital of Israel and would move its embassy there. “The United States will remember this day in which it was singled out for attack in the General Assembly for the very act of exercising our right as a sovereign nation,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told the 193-member General Assembly ahead of Thursday’s vote. “We will remember it when we are called upon to once again make the world’s largest contribution to the United Nations, and so many countries come calling on us, as they so often do, to pay even more and to use our influence for their benefit,” she said. Later on Thursday, Haley asked the 64 countries who voted no, abstained or did not cast a vote to come to a Jan. 3 reception “to thank you for your friendship to the United States,” according to the invitation seen by Reuters. The status of Jerusalem is one of the thorniest obstacles to a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, who were furious over Trump’s move. The international community does not recognize Israeli sovereignty over the full city. French U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre said in a statement: “The resolution adopted today only confirms relevant international law provisions on Jerusalem.” France voted in favor. ‘PREPOSTEROUS’ Netanyahu described the resolution as “preposterous.” “Jerusalem is our capital, always was, always will be. But I do appreciate the fact that a growing number of countries refuse to participate in this theater of the absurd,” he said in a video on his Facebook page. Israel captured East Jerusalem in a 1967 war and Palestinians want it as the capital of a future state they seek. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley vetos an Egyptian-drafted resolution regarding recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem, during the United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including Palestine, at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., December 18, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet the vote was a clear international rejection of the Trump administration’s “thuggish intimidation.” Among countries that abstained were Argentina, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Mexico, Philippines, Poland, Rwanda, South Sudan and Uganda. Guatemala, Honduras, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau and Togo joined the United States and Israel in voting no. Honduras’ vote against the motion comes after the United States signaled it would recognize President Juan Orlando Hernandez as the winner of an election the Organization of America States said should be scrapped over fraud claims. Slideshow (6 Images) Since Trump’s election, Mexico has aligned its foreign policy more closely with Washington in what diplomats say is an attempt to curry favor in face of threats to withdraw from the NAFTA free trade agreement. Trump’s rhetoric on cutting aid startled some U.S. allies but State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Thursday’s vote was just one factor that Washington would take into consideration in its foreign policy. “I just wanted to reiterate what the president had said yesterday and that that was the U.N. vote is really not the only factor that the administration would take into consideration in dealing with our foreign relations and countries who have chosen to vote one way or the other,” she told reporters. According to figures from the U.S. government’s aid agency USAID, in 2016 the United States provided some $13 billion in economic and military assistance to countries in sub-Saharan Africa and $1.6 billion to states in East Asia and Oceania. It provided some $13 billion to countries in the Middle East and North Africa, $6.7 billion to countries in South and Central Asia, $1.5 billion to states in Europe and Eurasia and $2.2 billion to Western Hemisphere countries, according to USAID. II/III. https://scroll.in/latest/862356/128-un-general-assembly-members-vote-against-us-decision-to-recognise-jerusalem-as-israeli-capital India among 128 UN members that vote against US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israeli capital The resolution urged the US to withdraw its decision, but US envoy Nikki Haley said no UN vote would stop the country from moving its embassy to Jerusalem. by Scroll Staff Published Yesterday · 11:05 pm Updated 2 hours ago. India among 128 UN members that vote against US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israeli capital Nikki Haley/Twitter India was among the 128 members of the 193-member United Nations General Assembly that voted on Thursday in favour of the resolution calling on the United States to withdraw its decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. US President Donald Trump on Thursday had threatened to cut off financial aid to countries that voted in favour of the resolution. Nine members opposed the move, and 35 abstained from the vote to adopt a resolution on the US policy. In an address before the vote, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said “no vote in the United Nations will make any difference” to the country’s decision to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. “But this vote will make a difference on how Americans look at the UN,” she said at the emergency session of the UN General Assembly. The US had vetoed a draft of this resolution at the UN Security Council on Monday. The resolution deals with the US decision to overturn decades of policy towards West Asia and formally recognise Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel on December 7. Haley also warned that the US “will remember” countries that vote to condemn President Trump’s decision to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. “When we make generous contributions to the UN, we also have a legitimate expectation that our goodwill is recognised,” she said. “If our investment fails, we have an obligation to spend our resources in more productive ways.” Jerusalem, which is revered by Jews, Christians and Muslims, is home to Islam’s third holiest site – the al-Aqsa mosque – and has been at the centre of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians for decades. Israel captured East Jerusalem, which predominantly has Arab households, in 1967 and later annexed it in a move that is not recognised internationally. The international community has condemned Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli Capital. #UNGA adopts resolution on status of Jerusalem. Votes: 128 in favour; 9 against; 35 abstentions. pic.twitter.com/x21drrmQXb — United Nations (@UN) December 21, 2017 III. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/12/21/nikki-haley-invites-countries-who-supported-us-in-un-israel-vote-to-reception.html Nikki Haley invites countries who supported US in UN Israel vote to reception Fox News UN votes to condemn US decision on Jerusalem Former U.S. ambassador to the U.N. John Negroponte reacts to the vote. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley sent an invitation Thursday to the 65 countries who didn’t vote against the United States in the U.N. General Assembly vote to denounce President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The invitation to the Jan. 3 reception marked a symbolic step of the U.S. taking note of who supports the country and who doesn’t. Haley’s email invitation, which has been obtained by Fox News, asks the nations who voted no, abstained from voting or didn’t cast a vote “to a reception to thank you for your friendship to the United States.” [Facsilmile of the invite: UNToday1] Haley’s email invitation (pictured) asks the nations who voted with the U.S. or abstained from the vote “to a reception to thank you for your friendship to the United States.” The General Assembly voted 128-9, with 35 abstentions, in favor of declaring Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital "null and void." 21 countries were absent during the vote. Earlier Thursday, Haley, who has adopted an aggressive stance at the world body on U.S. priorities, took to Twitter to voice her appreciation to the countries who didn’t vote against the U.S. “for not falling to the irresponsible ways of the @UN.” "The Trump administration needs to use this as a fulcrum to look at funding of the U.N. system more broadly," former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton said on Fox News' "The Story" Thursday night. On Wednesday, Trump linked the UN vote to the future of assistance from the U.S. to foreign countries, telling reporters: "Let them vote against us. We'll save a lot. We don't care." Haley added the U.S. would be "taking names." Fox News' Ben Evansky and The Associated Press contributed to this report. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. 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