Germany Pledges to Fight Anti-Israel Bias at U.N.

Germany took note of the anti-Israel bias at the U.N. and other international forums and pledged to oppose it on Sunday.

Berlin is “most concerned about the fact that, to this day, Israel continues to be criticized inappropriately, treated in a biased manner and marginalized in the bodies of the U.N.,” said a statement from German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of Israel’s accession to the U.N.

Maas said that his country is committed “to oppose any unfair treatment of Israel in the U.N. and to support its legitimate interests. We will continue to do our utmost to support these causes,” he said.

Israel’s Ambassador to Germany, Jeremey Issacharoff, said Sunday that he hopes that it is a “clear signal of determination in the context of ongoing efforts to improve Germany’s voting record and also enhance Israel’s standing and representation in U.N. fora.”

“We’ve had this discussion at a senior level for some time with our German counterparts and informed them that we hope to see changes in their voting pattern,” Issacharoff told The Times of Israel in a recent interview.

There were times when the German government acted to improve the texts of some resolutions, “which was helpful,” he said.

“But in the end there is also the effort by Germany to fit in with the consensus at the EU. There are certain circumstances where we think Germany should disagree and take its own independent position. Ultimately the unique relationship between Israel and Germany should be reflected in the multilateral arena.”