The recent UN General Assembly vote on the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories sheds light on the disturbing trend of political ignorance amongst powerful nations.
Ostriches are said to bury their heads in the sand to avoid facing the facts, politicians bury theirs in the dung of deliberate ignorance.
On December 30, the United Nations General Assembly held a vote on whether to submit a request to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for an advisory opinion on the consequences of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.
Surely there could be nothing controversial about shedding light on abusive situations? In a decent world, maybe, but this is no decent world. Only 87 countries voted in favour of the resolution; 53 abstained and 26 voted against.
Countries that voted against included some of the most powerful, including the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and Germany; while only seven EU countries voted in favour.
Is it any wonder that Israeli governments have been allowed to get away with murder? The vote passed, but it was despite the moral high ground of “clean” democracies, not thanks to them.
