2 July 2008 - Israel wrote a letter of complaint to the President of the Security Council following the terrorist attack in Jerusalem earlier today.

"The timing of this brutal terrorist attack, amidst continued negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, underscores the extent that the extremists will go to murder and maim Israeli civilians and destroy all efforts to secure peace and stability in the region. Moreover, this attack reveals, yet again, the malignant hatred for Israelis and gross zeal to commit acts of violence and terrorism that has disturbingly taken root in some parts of Palestinian society, which greatly threaten the prospects for genuine peace, reconciliation, and mutual understanding. Indeed, Hamas and other terrorist groups have already justified this vicious act of terrorism, inciting others and laying the groundwork for more violence, hatred, and suffering", wrote Ambassador Daniel Carmon, Charge d'Affaires, of the Permanent Mission of Israel.

He went on "to point out that today’s terrorist attack occurred only hundreds of meters away from the Mercaz Harav yeshiva, where on 6 March 2008, a terrorist infiltrated the seminary’s library and study hall and killed eight young men. If you recall, the Council could not reach consensus and condemn that unquestionable act of terrorism due to the political opposition of one Member State in particular. This was in spite of the Secretary-General’s own unqualified condemnation and the efforts of many Council members and the Council’s longstanding practice to condemn terrorism".

24 June 2008 - Israel sent a letter of complaint to the President of the Security Council (United States), informing the membership of the Council about Palestinian rocket attacks which violated the "state of calm" understandings in the Gaza Strip reached only days earlier.

"Palestinian terrorism greatly jeopardizes and undermines the attempt to achieve a lull in violence. While Israel is aware that the “calm” is likely to be fragile and short-lived, as today’s terrorist attack demonstrated, it has asserted its commitment to pursuing every avenue to achieve a non-violent solution. Following today’s violation, Israel will consider future steps", wrote Ambassador Daniel Carmon, Charge d'Affaires, a.i., of the Permanent Mission of Israel.

19 June 2008 - Israel delivered a statement during a special Security Council meeting in connection with resolution 1325 (2000) on "women and peace and security". US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice presided over the meeting, which sought to focus attention on action taken to call on parties to armed conflict to take special measures to protect women and girls from gender-based violence, particularly rape and other forms of sexual abuse, and emphasizes the responsibility of states to put an end to impunity.

Ambassador Daniel Carmon, Charge d'Affaires, a.i., of the Permanent Mission of Israel, noted that "While the international community has recognized that sexual violence can amount to a war crime, crimes against humanity, or constitutive acts with respect to genocide, numerous challenges remain to ending sexual violence in situations of armed conflict".

He suggested that "the Council can play a greater role in ensuring that peacekeeping mandates specifically refer to the prevention of sexual violence, that peacekeepers are appropriately trained and informed about sexual violence, and that sanctions and other tools are used against perpetrators".

12 June 2008 - Israel delivered a statement during the President of General Assembly's high level debate on HIV/AIDS.

"While Israel is fortunate to have a low rate of HIV/AIDS," said Mr.Ilan Fluss, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations, " States must also adopt a broad-based approach to combat HIV/AIDS. As an example, the prevention of mother-to-child transmissions, the education of young people about HIV/AIDS, and prevention for sex workers all require distinct modes of communication, and involve different actors in transferring the necessary knowledge and establishing the relevant social infrastructures. We have to put more effort into developing effective and affordable technologies."

5 - 6 June 2008 - Israel, which currently is a member of the 19 seat NGO Committe, delivered interventions on behalf of two NGOs, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society and the World Union of Progressive Judaism, during the 2008 resumed session. The NGO Committee is responsible for accrediting and maintaining relations with the non-governmental organizations working with the United Nations.

5 June 2008 - Israel field a formal complaint to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the UN Security Council after Palestinian terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired a round of mortars that killed an Israeli civilian.

"The killing of an Israeli civilian this morning and the attack on Nahal Oz yesterday underscore the malicious and murderous intentions of Hamas. It is a terrorist organization that has no compassion or concern for civilians, neither Israeli nor Palestinian. Hamas' commitment to violence and disregard for the Palestinian people are reminders that it has no interest in peace nor is it suited for engagement with the international community," wrote Ambassador Dan Gillerman, Permanent Representative.

"Israel must make the transition from a state that receives aid to a state that gives aid," said Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General on Millennium Development Goals, at the opening of the International Conference on Israel and the African Green Revolution.

Sachs added that Africa would like to have Israel as a partner in the continent's green revolution, and that Israel has the technological know-how that Africa needs in three main fields: agriculture, public health and medicine, and solar energy.

At the conference, which opened on Sunday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem, representatives from Israel and from the international community presented various approaches to agricultural development on the African continent and discussed how to effectively implement them in order to alleviate the present food and water crisis. Israel and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) also signed, for the first time, a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in the field of agriculture.

Prof. Sachs, head of the Earth Institute at Columbia University in New York, is a world-renowned economist and is especially prominent in the efforts to reduce poverty in underdeveloped areas of the world. In his speech, Prof. Sachs mentioned that hundreds of millions of people around the world suffer from hunger, lack of water, disease and unemployment despite the wealth, advanced technology and know-how that exist in today's world. "All this causes instability and emigration," Prof. Sachs stated, "and instead of cooperating to find solutions to the problems, the world reacts with fear and builds walls."

The conference, which was organized by MASHAV, (the Center for International Cooperation, the Israeli body responsible for extending aid to developing countries), was attended by hundreds of delegates representing African states and international aid organizations, as well as MASHAV trainees in Israel and academics.

27 May 2008 - Israel joined the Security Council's semi-annual debate on "Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict", delivering a statement in the Council following an oral report.

Ambassador Daniel Carmon, Charge d'affaires, a.i. of the Permanent Mission of Israel, noted that "the protection of civilians in armed conflict is one of the main objectives of international humanitarian law. It emantates from the universal understanding that acts of hostilities should be restricted, as much as possible, to armed forces, in order to spare civilians from the horrors of war". 

22 May 2008 - Israel delivered a brief intervention during an informal debate convened by the President of the General Assembly on the issue of "human security".

Ambassador Daniel Carmon, Charge d'Affaires, a.i., of the Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN, outlined Israel's approach to the human security model. "Israel understands that human security is a people-centered and individual focused approach that can be implemented in a variety of areas such as climate change, environment, sustainable development, non-proliferation, human rights, armed conflict, culture of hate, crime prevention, terrorism and others. In this regard, the framework of human security can and should serve as a comprehensive and integrated approach to address the different challenges that human beings are faced with, some of which we have just mentioned".

"Resolutions on the Arab-Israeli Conflict: 62nd Session of the General Assembly" presents an overview and listing on the annual resolutions adopted in the Assembly concerning Israel.

Though most resolutions are adopted by consensus, the Assembly will vote on some 80 resolutions each year. During the 62nd session, 19 of those resolutions focused on and criticized Israel, in a wholly biased, one-sided, and predetermined manner. These resolutions are usually initiated by members of the Arab Group, and are passed by a wide margin in the General Assembly due to the tendency of Member States to vote in blocs. Arab Group states belong to the two largest blocs, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM – 113 members) and the Group of 77 (G-77 plus China, the developing world –130 members) which, though they overlap in membership, are each composed of a majority of UN Member States, thus creating an “Automatic Majority”. The NAM and G77, as voting blocs, will often offer full support to resolutions presented by their members, thus allowing for easy and immediate adoption of resolutions, including those that defame and attempt to de-legitimize Israel.

More information on the "automatic majority" and the resolutions its passes is available in "Israel and the UN: An Uneasy Relationship". A listing of the one-sided resolutions on the Arab-Israeli conflict from the 61st Session is also available.  

Israel, in some cases, will offer an explanation of vote regarding resolutions and in situations where it wishes the record to reflect its reservations and positions. The following is a list of actions taken thus far on resolutions, and subsequent statements delivered according to Committee, which will be updated accordingly:

Plenary

- Resolutions on Israeli-Palestinian conflict (6 resoutions)

- Resolution on Assistance to the Palestinian people

- General Statement: Adoption of resolution on "Agricultural technology for development" in the General Plenary

First Committee

- Resolution on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty

- Resolution on Nuclear Free Weapon Zone in the Middle East

- Resolution on the risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East

Second Committee

- Resolution on Palestinian natural resources

- Resolution on Lebanese Oil Slick

- Resolution on Agricultural technology for development (on behalf of co-sponsors)

Third Committe

- Resolution on Palestinian self-determination

- Resolution on the PrepComm in follow-up to the Durban conference

- Resolution on the insitution building package of Human Rights Council  

- Resolution on the 2001 Durban conference