UN Agency begins Building Database for Anti-Israel Blacklist

The United Nations Human Rights Commissioner has begun the process of building a database Israel and the United State believe will result in the blacklist of companies doing business in the Jewish state. The commissioner reportedly sent 150 letters to businesses doing business in areas Israel conquered in the 1967 war that are also claimed by the Palestinians for future statehood. The UN and many nations support the Palestinian claim and consider the Israeli presence in the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights “illegal” although it has never been adjudicated as such. Nevertheless, the UN Human Rights Council, arguably the world body’s most anti-Israel associate, is compiling the data base the first use for which will be to issue a warning that their presence in those areas could qualify the company for inclusion on the UN blacklist for companies violating “internal law and UN decisions.” Critics of the project reject the stated intent to limit the scope of the UN threat to companies engaged in post-1967 areas, and argue it’s only a first step toward blacklisting all commerce with Israel. The believe that many corporations will eschew the distinctions between geographic areas and stop doing business in Israel altogether rather than become embroiled in costly politically-inspired legal drama. An example of the quandary for the businesses identified by the Human Rights Commissioner is the legal jeopardy it could face for violating American (federal of state) anti-boycott laws if it accedes to the UN demands.