In January 1918, then-U.S. President Woodrow Wilson laid out his famous Fourteen Points, which dealt with international frameworks to be put in place after World War I. The 14th point called to establish an international organization that would guarantee that "nations large and small" remained independent and intact. That idea led to the League of Nations, which held its founding meeting in January 1920. Wilson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919, but domestic opposition prevented him from bringing the U.S. into the league. The organization fell apart less than 20 years after it was founded, when World War II broke out. It was officially dismantled at the time the United Nations was established.
The U.N. Charter, which followed in the footsteps of the League of Nations, was passed at the end of 1945. In terms of membership, the U.N. is a success – 51 countries participated in forming it, and 193 countries are currently members. The U.N. has racked up many more failures than the League of Nations, but like its predecessor, it has also had some successes. One shining moment was when the General Assembly passed Resolution 181 in November 1947, which recommended the establishment of a Jewish state in the land of Israel alongside an Arab country. But the U.N. failed to implement that resolution, and the next day saw Arab attacks that heralded the first stage of the 1948 War of Independence.
The preamble to the U.N. Charter is impressive and hopeful: "We the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind." There is not enough space here to list the wars, victims, or human suffering that have transpired since those aspirational words were composed. The U.N. and its satellite organizations encourage wrong and evil acts more often than they prevent them.
One of the only advantages to this hypocritical and failed organization is the opportunity it offers leaders to address its annual General Assembly. Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used that opportunity admirably, and not for the first time. A major part of his speech was devoted to discussing the U.N. and its branches' many failures. It's hard to argue with the facts that Netanyahu cited about the International Atomic Energy Agency; UNESCO; the U.N. Human Rights Council, UNRWA, and the General Assembly itself. Netanyahu emphasized how proud he was to be representing Israel. You don't need to be a fan of the prime minister to feel proud about how he exposed the ugly hypocrisy of the entity that gave him a platform.
