UN approves Israeli entrepreneurship resolution

UN approves Israeli entrepreneurship resolution

www.jpost.com

The United Nations on Friday approved an Israel-initiated resolution in which the international body affirmed for the first time that entrepreneurship was a critical development tool.

The UN Second Committee adopted the “Entrepreneurship for Development” resolution by a 129-31 vote.

In response to the vote, Israeli Ambassador to the UN in New York Ron Prosor said the committee had sent “a clear and simple message: Entrepreneurship is a primary pathway to sustainable economic growth for all...

(visit the link for the full news article)

I thought this was an interesting news story, given the conspiracy theories that fly about "zionists controlling the world".

And it's true. "Economic assassination" is based on loans and aids programs that do nothing to empower the people in those countries. Rather, it disempowers them by keeping them dependent on others.

Here's an additional quote from the article:

Prosor chastised the UN’s Arab Group for voting against it, noting that “few places could benefit from entrepreneurship more than the Arab world.

“Every Arab delegate who voted ‘no’ is sending the message that he cares far more about petty politics than human prosperity,” Prosor said, adding that the resolution offered hope to people around the world, from the mountains of Nepal to the sands of the Sahara Desert.

This sort of points out their wolf-pack mentality. While the rest of the world can ignore for a second the Israel/Palestine conflict, the Arabs have no compunction putting their political grievances ahead of the well being of their own people.

As Posner said, no nations need entrepreneurship more than Arab nations. Yet they rejected a good measure. This can only shed light on why Arab nations are such economic failures.

When Israel, a nation many times smaller than Egypt, with a fraction of their population, has a bigger GDP, you can much deduce that there is something seriously wrong with Arab culture.

www.jpost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Yeah but I think Israel get's xxx time's more foreign aid from the USA than all the Arab states put together.

Originally posted by WatchRider
Yeah but I think Israel get's xxx time's more foreign aid from the USA than all the Arab states put together.

Not to mention access to all that technology either handed to them or just stolen, which they then sell on to those people we might not be on the best of terms with.

Well, here's what they had to say about why they voted no:

RABEE JAWHARA ( Syria ),
making a general statement, said
Israel was attempting to monopolize
the Second Committee’s work by
submitting draft resolutions that
portrayed it as a peaceful State
seeking to work within the United
Nations. However, such drafts did not
camouflage Israel’s human rights
violations and occupation, he stressed,
pointing out that, even as it submitted
the text, Israel restricted any chance
of entrepreneurship in the Occupied
Palestinian Territory and the occupied
Syrian Golan. It was guilty of several
examples of policies that restricted
business and economic growth in
Palestine and the occupied Syrian
Golan, and had continuously failed to
comply with United Nations
resolutions. He urged Committee
members to vote against the draft so
as to send a signal that Israeli must
end the occupation.
AMER HIAL AL-HAJRI (Oman ),
speaking on behalf of the Arab Group,
noted that the United Nations
Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) had shown
that Israel’s occupation continued to
undermine the rights of Palestinians,
particularly their ability to engage in
entrepreneurship. The Arab Group
had proposed changes to ensure
balance in the text, but had been
unable to achieve that, he said. As
such, it was obliged to vote against
the draft resolution.
MOHAMED KHALIL HUSSEIN
(Egypt) also said the text lacked
balance, particularly given its focus on
national policies for entrepreneurship,
and did not take into account the
need to create an internationally
conducive climate and to establish
support in that regard. A multilateral,
transparent and open regime was
needed, with no barriers in the way of
developing countries. Finance, the
transfer of technology and capacity-
building must also be included, he
said.
The draft resolution also failed
to take into account the conclusions of
the Economic and Social Commission
for Western Asia (ESCWA) report on
the condition of the Palestinian
people, he continued. It showed that
Israel’s occupation and blockade
undermined opportunities for
marketing and drained natural
resources, meaning that the area
lacked necessary land for production.
That discouraged private investment
and increased risks and production
costs.
He said his delegation had
tried to address the imbalances
mentioned by taking part in
discussions, but agreement on
implementation had proven
impossible because developed
countries had changed their position
at the last minute. The co-sponsors
had ignored the UNCTAD reports, but
Egypt was unable to ignore them,
especially since the draft sought to
promote entrepreneurship
internationally, he said. As such,
Egypt would vote against the draft.
The Committee then approved
the text, as orally corrected, by a
recorded vote of 129 in
favourto31 against,with9 abstentions
( Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brunei
Darussalam, China, Ecuador, Mali,
Mauritius, South Africa, Zimbabwe).
NOEL KAGANDA (United
Republic of Tanzania ) said he had
voted in favour of the draft because
entrepreneurship had a positive effect
on development. However, the United
Republic of Tanzania had always
supported the Palestinian people and
felt that discussions on the text had
been clouded by regional
considerations.
RON PROSOR ( Israel) said
entrepreneurship offered developing
communities the best hope for
breaking the cycle of poverty. The
actions of entrepreneurs had a ripple
effect, unlocking minds and inspiring
others to pursue their dreams. By
adopting the draft resolution, the
Committee was sending a clear and
simple message that entrepreneurship
was a primary pathway to sustainable
economic growth.
He went on to say that while
he had hoped for consensus, the Arab
Group had been committed to voting
against it even before negotiations
had ended. Recalling that people in
the Arab world had risen against their
Governments precisely because they
wanted better conditions, he said that
by failing to respond, Arab
Governments had “turned their backs
on their own people” and sent a clear
message that they cared far more
about “petty politics than human
prosperity”. Israel’s achievements
were the result of close collaboration
between business and Government,
he said, adding that stability required
people’s empowerment.
Mr. KHALIL ( Egypt),
responding to “incorrect elements” of
the Israeli representative’s statement,
said his delegation had been a
participant throughout the
negotiations, but had received no
signal of flexibility from Israel. The
Arab Group’s position had been
determined after the negotiations and
not decided during their course. It
had taken that position to protect the
Arab peoples, he said, calling on Israel
to ensure an end to continued
Palestinian suffering.

www.un.org...

Which is what I suspected was behind it.

How ludicrous that Palestinian people are restricted from working on property they actually own, and are being ejected from/having bulldozed buildings and property they actually owned; even getting a work permit to pass through the checkpoints is almost impossible; and yet are supposed to believe in Israeli altruism, are supposed to believe Israel means to afford them opportunities where they don't all ready have ownership? (None of which they brought up btw, they merely mentioned the occupation and blockade and its obvious effects on any supposed entrepeneurship.)

Sure, sounds like a great idea in theory, but can you see where the dubiousness stems from? And the contempt for Israeli hypocrisy?

Probably not. Your constant meme is "Israel-Good;Arab/Muslim-Bad".

(Meanwhile the UN is all about hypocrisy and double standards, we all know that, no matter which side of an issue you're on.)

reply to post by dontreally


Middle Eastern politics aside, and the Arab countries have all the reasons to vote against Israel - Entrepreneurship IS the best way for development. as someone who works in Venture Capital I know what a good, state sponsored policy of encouraging venture and entrepreneurship can really make a difference.

John

This I completely agree with, and I think a lot of people don't realize the trap it is:

"And it's true. "Economic assassination"
is based on loans and aids programs
that do nothing to empower the
people in those countries. Rather, it
disempowers them by keeping them
dependent on others."

Sounds like "Ya but israel is for a one state solution and Palestine is not" nonsense
Ya one state solution expect conditions that you aren't allowed to behave like a state, the blockade remains, not allowed to have guns or nothing therefore minimal law enforcement and of course a massive strain on the economy.

I found this to be quite interesting.
It comes from the Office of the US Trade Representative website.

USTR LInk

The link shows that for 2010 the USA was running a trade deficit with Israel to the tune of $10 billion. That means we owe them money. Perhaps that could explain some part of why we give them aid?

Personally, and I don't have data to support this claim, but I think Israel is not hurting for cash. We bought $25 billion dollars worth of goods and services from them in 2010. I don't think we are the only country doing business with Israel.

Found another link showing the trade deficit with Israel through Sept 2012 shows a $5.578 billion deficit.
US Census Link