De Blasio, Israel’s Self-declared Defender, Silent on U.N. Vote

Mayor Bill de Blasio has declared himself, by dint of his leadership of the city home to the largest Jewish population outside Israel, as the Jewish state’s defender among his progressive base.

However, as of Tuesday, four days since Israel was body-slammed at the United Nations, the mayor has yet to issue a statement in support of Israel. Several emails sent by Hamodia to four de Blasio press people did not get a response as we went to print.

“There is a philosophical grounding to my belief in Israel and it is my belief, it is our obligation, to defend Israel,” he said in 2014.

The U.N. vote condemns Israel for building in Yehudah and Shomron, but also calls for governments to distinguish between products made within and over the Green Line. This soft version of boycott Israel has been consistently denounced by de Blasio.

New York Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan on Tuesday criticized both the resolution and the U.S. abstention.

“Instead of defending our nation’s greatest ally and fostering an environment for peace,” the state’s top Republican said, “the U.N. delegates once again provided encouragement to the enemies of Israel and neglected to address the basic reality that we live in a dangerous world.”

This article appeared in print on page 30 of the December 28th, 2016 edition of Hamodia.