The U.N. General Assembly Rebukes the Trump Administration
As expected, the U.N. General Assembly delivered a clear rejection of the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital:
The overwhelming majority of the world’s nations delivered a stinging rebuke to the United States on Thursday, denouncing its decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and ignoring President Trump’s bombastic threats of revenge.
In what amounted to a collective act of defiance toward Washington, ambassadors of the 193-member General Assembly voted 128 to 9, with 35 abstentions, to approve a nonbinding resolution demanding that the United States rescind the Dec. 6 decision on Jerusalem, the contested holy city, which also included a plan to relocate the American Embassy there.
Many of the votes in favor of the resolution came from longstanding treaty allies:
UNGA resolution on #Jerusalem adopted. Here’s the result pic.twitter.com/CU4xQkmR9f
— Nabil Abi Saab (@NabilAbiSaab) December 21, 2017
Some of the states that ignored the threats from Trump and Haley included major allies such as South Korea, Japan, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and most of the rest of the members of NATO. The handful of states that the U.S. was able to get to vote against the resolution was made up almost entirely of tiny countries that are heavily dependent on the U.S. Almost all of the world’s most powerful states supported the resolution and voted against the U.S. That should come as no surprise since they are simply standing up for the same position that the U.S. held for decades. When that many allied and friendly governments tell the administration that they are in the wrong, it would be wise to rethink the decision that earned the U.S. this rebuke.
The U.S. has suffered two high-profile diplomatic embarrassments in the course of a week, and all because of one ill-advised and gratuitous decision that doesn’t advance American interests in the slightest.
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