The Brown & White

A Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations spoke about the pressures and conflicts surrounding Israel as part of the U.N. last Wednesday in Sinclair Auditorium.

Ambassador Daniel Carmon said that because of group dynamics within the U.N., Israel's voice is not being heard. "The group dynamics is one of the biggest, most important phenomena in the world of the U.N.," Carmon said.

For the most part, groups vote together on issues, with few countries straying from their group. When countries vote in this way, they form "pressure groups."

Carmon said pressure groups are very strong, and the pressure group that affects Israel's position in the U.N. the most is the Arab group.

"The Arab group is playing the political game in a very successful way," Carmon said.

"When the very strong Arab group can unite around the Israel-Arab conflict, you have the story of our life in the U.N.," he said.

No matter how individual countries or ambassadors within the Arab group feel about a certain issue, they all vote together as a group against Israel, he said.

"Ambassadors can personally think one way, but because they're part of a group, they vote another way," Carmon said. "It's very easy to unite the Arab world around this issue."

Carmon said pressure groups are at the heart of the issue when it comes to the treatment of Israel in the U.N.

"Israel is constantly condemned and bashed at the U.N. because of political issues," Carmon said.

In order for Israel's position in the U.N. to change, the U.N. itself has to change.

"The U.N. that we know today is totally different in its vision, its activity, its successes and its failures than the original founding fathers had for their mission," said Carmon. "If the U.N. would like to be relevant, something very basic has to change in the machinery."

Israel is eager to promote peace through the U.N., Carmon said. However, "many processes [in the U.N.] are being blocked because of political limitations."

Rabbi Seth Goren, Director of Jewish Student Life/Associate Chaplain, said he enjoyed Carmon's lecture. "I found it to be compelling and interesting."

Goren hopes to continue the discussion about the Arab-Israeli conflict.

"Creating spaces where discussion can take place is essential at Lehigh, not just for Jewish and Muslim students, but for Lehigh as a whole," said Goren.

The Lehigh University/United Nations Partnership began in August 2004, when Lehigh became the sixth university worldwide to have full non-governmental organization (NGO) status with the U.N. Department of Public Information, according to a pamphlet from the speech.

"We're only one of a few universities who have this kind of access," said Ilya Khazen, '10, a student directly involved in the partnership. "We have access to all the conferences, so every time something happens at the U.N., we can get seats for students."

"They're able to talk, they get to sit next to the big leagues…they're part of the [U.N.] conferences 100 percent," said Khazen.

Many students have good things to say about the LU/U.N. Partnership and the student delegates program.

"The U.N. Partnership that Lehigh has is one of the greatest assets the campus has because it allows so many individuals to get a better idea of what's going on in the outside world from people who are actually out there living in it and being involved in the changes and the diplomacy that's being enacted right now," said Mollie Garvey, '10.

Tori Katen-Narvell, '10, also said she enjoyed Carmon's lecture.

"I know a lot of us get caught up in 'the Lehigh bubble'. It's a good way to make students see beyond the bubble, and remember that there's so much more going on in the world," said Katen-Narvell.

"He had a lot of interesting things to say, and touched on a lot of topics. More than I expected," she said.

Carmon's speech was part of the Lehigh University's Ambassadorial Speaker Series. Lehigh has hosted ambassadors from countries like Iraq and Iran in the past.

The speech was sponsored by the Lehigh University United Nations Partnership, the Hillel Society, the Dialogue Center, the Chaplain's Office, the Department of International Relations, the Lawyers Without Borders Club and the Fred and Easter Kucklinsky Foundation.