By Baruch Pletner | February 12, 2020

Ex-PM Olmert’s love fest with arch-terrorist and Holocaust denier Mahmoud Abbas followed by the outright Nazi UN action to blacklist companies doing business with Jews provide much needed boost to incumbent PM Netanyahu

The United Nations added to its already storied history as a rabidly antisemitic institution today by publishing a black list of companies, both Israeli and from outside of Israel that do business with Jews. For rather obscure reasons, Jews so targeted happen to reside in east Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the Golan Heights. Among the blacklisted companies are such mainstays of the international business community as Teva Pharmaceuticals and General Mills.

The move that has long been opposed by the United States is seen as a “comeback” of sorts by the United Nations directed at president Trump’s “Deal of the Century”, which suggests that Israel can extend its civil law to areas in the Jordan Valley, in Judea, and in Samaria.

In practical terms, the only outcomes from this move will likely prove to be of the unintended kind, at least as far as the UN is concerned. While it is utterly inconceivable that any of the 112 companies singled out in the UN action will stop doing business with Jews no matter where they may reside, it is not impossible that at least one or two of these businesses who currently employ both Jews and Arabs in Judea and Samaria will choose not to do so in the future. Since Arabs residing in these territories, unlike their Jewish neighbors, cannot seek employment in Israel without an exceedingly difficult to obtain permit and since the rate of unemployment in the so-called “Palestinian Authority” is much higher than that of Israel, it would be Arabs rather than Jews that will be hurt by the UN’s action.

However, by far the biggest effect of the blatantly antisemitic act of blacklisting companies whose only sin lies in doing business with Jews will be on internal Israeli politics leading to the March 2ns election. Today’s action comes on the heel of the Palestinians appeal to the UN security council to reject president Trump’s peace plan. On the fringes of that particular bit of theater there was, as it happens, another one: the convicted criminal and failed Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert held a joint presser with the terrorist and Holocaust denier head of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas. In this press conference, Mr. Olmert heaped every possible praise on the Jew hater seated on the dais right next to him.

Any hope that Mr. Gantz’s Blue and White party may have to form a coalition government, whether of the majority or minority kind, depends entirely on the support of the Joint Arab List. Due to this fact, Mr. Gantz has pretty much zero maneuvering room in which to distance himself from the shameful spectacle of an ex-Israeli PM sucking up to an arch-terrorist and Holocaust denier followed by an act of antisemitism not seen since the Holocaust itself at the hands of the United Nations.

PM Netanyahu has been busy in the last few weeks in saddling Mr. Gantz and his party with the millstone of the obeisance they must of necessity pay to the one Knesset faction that represents antisemites, terrorists, and Holocaust deniers, the Arab Joint List. Mr. Olmert’s presser with Mahmoud Abbas who is enthusiastically supported by the Joint List and by many on the Israeli hard left and Mr. Gantz’s inability to distance himself from Mr. Olmert was bad enough. Today’s UN action seals the deal.

Jewish Israelis have been treated to a “show and tell”. In graphic detail, it had been made clear to them that any vote for Blue and White equals a vote for terrorists and Holocaust deniers, in other words people who wish to terminate the Zionist movement and destroy its one and only achievement: the state of Israel as the exclusive homeland of the Jewish People. Should Mr. Netanyahu achieve his goal of a 61 member Knesset majority coalition that does not rely on the rabidly secularist and anti-Netanyahu Israel Beitenu party led by Avigdor Lieberman, the last two days at the UN will doubtlessly be credited with having delivered Mr. Netanyahu this long hoped for victory.

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This piece originally appeared on Tsionizm.com and is used by permission.

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