Nations United – How the United Nations Undermines Israel and the West

 by Steven D. Laib  

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In Nations United Alex Grobman presents his case on why the United Nations has failed to properly deal with the Arab/Israeli conflict, and why it has failed to meet its stated purpose.

Nations United - How the United Nations Undermines Israel and the West
by Alex Grobman, Ph.D.
published by Balfour Books  ((November 17, 2006))

Hdbk., 192 pgs ISBN-10: 0892216743

In this work, Alex Grobman has created a masterpiece of historical analysis. His work is of note, not only because of its exhaustive dissection of the origins of the Arab/Israeli disputes, but also because of what is not said, but is repeatedly implied throughout the book; that the UN has failed because its membership is not truly interested in meeting the expectations and purposes set forth in its charter.

Dr. Grobman begins by tracing the origins of Israel following World War II and the Nazi genocide in Europe. The UN, we are shown, originated out of the same sentiments; that the experiences of the first half of the 20^th century were too terrible to be allowed to recur and that the United Nations, acting as a form of “super-alliance,” would somehow prevent such a recurrence. Israel was created, partially by the UN, as part of this effort. We then see how, over time, attitudes at this world body changed from one sympathetic to Jews in general and European Holocaust survivors in particular, to one which engaged in active condemnation of Israeli and Jewish expectation of a right to existence and self determination. Essentially, the rights that other nations expect as their sovereign right do not apply to Israel as a nation, or to the Jews as a people. Rather, Jews become an embarrassment that refuses to disappear, and are, as a result, treated with disrespect by a body that was founded partially for their protection. The origins and progress of this transformation of attitude are provided in some detail. The roles of the USSR, as well as the Middle Eastern Arab states are also presented, with particular emphasis on how the Soviet attitude changed during the cold war from supporting the establishment of Israel to condemning it in partnership with its Arab client states. We see that this was , in all of its essential details, an act of pure politics, that should have reversed itself with the death of the Soviet Union, but did not.

Dr. Grobman also spends a significant amount of time examining the concept of Zionism, and the “Zionism equals Racism” resolution passed and later revoked by the UN. This examination provides considerable detail on the amount of Orwellian doublespeak necessary to “convince” the world audience that it is possible to be pro-Jew, even pro-Israel, but anti-Zionist at the same time. He also looks briefly at the possibility that Israel serves a safety valve for the Arab governments, giving them something to distract the attention of their oppressed populations from the truth; that they are the victims of their own leadership, and that Israel offers the shining possibility of what their nations could become if only they cast off their self imposed handicaps and joined the free world.

If this book has a weakness, it is that it is written in the manner of a scholarly research paper. It might have been longer, and covered some material in more detail. Some readers will find this disappointing. It is also rather terse in its style. Thus, it should not be considered light reading. At the same time its great strength is that it gives sources for everything, including a 35 page bibliography. Some chapters have almost as many pages of endnotes as text. As a result, the reader seeking more information will have more than enough opportunities to find it.

The book's conclusion draws from specific incidents of the UN's willful disregard for events that should, in theory, have drawn serious attention and action. These include the failure of the Arab states to deal with the issue of the “Palestinians” as fellow Arabs, failure of the UN to account for the massive amounts of aid money provided provided to the “Palestinians” for food, sanitation and infrastructure, which were diverted to buying weapons, and to the private accounts of people such as Yasser Arafat, the use of children as weapons and human shields, the falsification Jenin massacre, and, of course incidents in other parts of the world, as well. He even provides documentation of how UN resources have been used by terrorist organizations or their supporters.

As a survey of the subject matter, this work may be without peer. It should be required reading for anyone seeking a deeper knowledge of the truth of the Arab/Israeli disputes, and should also be mandatory for those desiring a better knowledge of why the UN has repeatedly failed to deal effectively with virtually every crisis that has occurred since its inception, which is the underlying tenor of the entire work; that the United Nations failure to properly deal with the issues that the existence of Israel presents is emblematic of its general failure to achieve its purposes, and therefore, makes the organization a failure, period.

Book Reviews, Foreign Affairs: Israel-Palestine, Foreign Affairs: United Nations, National Sovereignty

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