Schumer Warns Against Using UN as Forum to Pressure Israel

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer on Sunday warned the Obama administration not to support any attempt to impose a diplomatic solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at the UN Security Council.

“The U.S. must always come to the aid of our friend Israel at the UN,” Schumer said in a speech at the Israeli American Council National Conference at the Washington Marriott Marquis on Sunday. “The U.S. should never use the United Nations as a forum to put pressure on Israel any kind of an agreement.”

“It is truly shameful the way Israel has been treated at the UN up to now,” he asserted. “The UN questions Israel more than any other nation, although it is the only beacon of democracy and representative government in the Middle East. Since the days of ‘Zionism equals racism,’ the UN has been an anti-Israel forum. Friends of Israel should not trust it.”

As he took the stage, Schumer received a standing ovation, presumably for opposing the Iranian nuclear deal last year. At the beginning of his remarks, the senior Democratic senator thanked Sheldon and Miriam Adelson “for their generosity,” telling the crowd that he was invited by the Adelsons to address the pro-Israel gathering.

Schumer noted his vote against the deal – earning another standing ovation – and called on Congress to immediately extend the Iran Sanctions Act and keep Iran’s feet to the fire. “As you know, I voted against the Iran deal and I have never regretted that vote a single day since,” he said to loud applause.