The Israeli government is in an uproar about United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visiting Iran for a summit hosted by the Non-Aligned Movement, a group of 120 countries that formed during the Cold War. Many countries are those the United States has sought to marginalize.
This year, Iran is hosting the summit and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cannot accept that Ban will just be talking to Iranian leaders and representatives. Netanyahu was quoted as saying to Ban, “Your visit will grant legitimacy to a regime that is the greatest threat to world peace and security.” Likewise, a pro-Israeli group, the American Jewish Committee, stated that Tehran should not be the place for Ban to visit because “…[he] would honor a regime that consistently ignores both him and the world body he heads in ways that threaten both regional and global security.”
I couldn’t help but think that this quote actually seems to talk about many actions of the Israeli government! Such double standards.
Talking never hurt anybody, and Iran is a sovereign country like Israel, which means Ban has every right and obligation to attend the Non-Aligned Movement’s meetings, as it is customary for the secretary general to do — regardless of political sensitivities surrounding the host country.
The Israeli government should welcome dialogue instead of preventing it, even if it dislikes which countries are communicating with each other and the United Nations Secretary-General. Additionally, Ban should not feel pressure from the Israeli government to avoid this summit.
