(JNS.org) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reassured Jewish community leaders Sunday he would oppose any anti-Israel bias at the United Nations.
“As secretary-general of the United Nations, I consider that the State of Israel needs to be treated as any other state,” Guterres said at the World Jewish Congress offices in New York.
“I have already had the opportunity to show that I’m ready to abide by that principle even when that forces me to take some decisions that create some uncomfortable situations,” he added, referring to an incident in March in which the U.N. leader forced the retraction of a controversial U.N. report that accused Israel of implementing “an apartheid regime.”
In addition to clarifying that his opposition to anti-Israel bias does not entail always being “in agreement with all the decisions” made by the Israeli government, Guterres assured he would be “in the frontline” in the fight against global anti-Semitism and, if possible, eradicate the phenomenon “from the face of the Earth.”
The secretary-general’s statements are the latest affirmation of his vow to curb anti-Israel sentiments at the world body. In March, Guterres for the second time made public his recognition of Judaism’s historic ties to Jerusalem and the Temple Mount.