Norman Finkelstein frequently mentions in his discussions on Israel/Palestine the fact that Israel and the United States are largely alone (with the exception of a couple of Pacific island nations, plus recently either Canada or Australia) in standing against what he calls an international "consensus" to solving the conflict. That consensus is demonstrated by an annually-passed (since 1975, I believe) UN General Assembly resolution, typically titled “Peaceful Settlement to the Palestine Question,” which calls for Israeli withdrawal to pre-1967 borders, creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital, and a just resolution of the refugee problem in accordance with Resolution 194 (those refugees wishing to return to their homes and live in peace with their neighbors must be allowed to do so; the rest are entitled to compensation).
The most recent iteration of this resolution passed on December 2nd, 2009. Finkelstein posted about it and showed the voting results, and I decided it’s worthwhile to show it here on Mondoweiss:
A/RES/64/19 – ANNEX IV
Vote on Peaceful Settlement
The draft resolution on Peaceful Settlement (document A/64/L.23) was adopted by a recorded vote of 164 in favour to 7 against, with 4 abstentions, as follows:
In favour: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Against: Australia, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Palau, United States.
Abstain: Cameroon, Canada, Fiji, Tonga.
Absent: Antigua and Barbuda, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Grenada, Honduras, Kiribati, Malawi, Panama, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.
You can view an official list of voting records on UN resolutions related to Palestine here.
In addition to the consensus at the UN, Finkelstein often talks about the March 2002 Arab League Peace Initiative: “We have the Arab League, all twenty-two members of the Arab League, favoring a two-state settlement on the June 1967 border. We have the Palestinian Authority favoring that two-state settlement on the June 1967 border. We now have Hamas [as shown in recent interviews with its leader Khaled Meshal and as acknowledged to be their compromise position by a former Mossad head] favoring that two-state settlement on the June 1967 border. The one and only obstacle is Israel, backed by the United States. That’s the problem.”
PS: As I typed the title to my post, my Mac red-underlined the word ‘rejectionism’. I decided, for the hell of it, to look up and perhaps use ‘rejectionist’ instead, and this is what Apple’s built-in Dictionary (which is based on the New Oxford American Dictionary, 2nd Edition) listed as its meaning:
re•jec•tion•ist |riˈjek sh ənist|
noun [often as adj. ]a person who rejects a proposed policy, esp. an Arab who refuses to accept a negotiated peace with Israel.
The irony could not be more head-spinning.
