Upcoming UN 'blacklist' of companies tied to Israel invokes anti-Semitism, experts say

"An upcoming 'blacklist' of major international companies with business ties to Israeli communities in Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights and eastern Jerusalem represents yet another attempt by anti-Israel actors in the United Nations to single out and demonize the world's only Jewish state, experts say.

The U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) had voted to approve the database of businesses last year, defying objections from the U.S. and Israel. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid bin Ra'ad Zeid al-Hussein submitted a draft of the blacklist to the countries where the businesses are based. He is expected to receive a response from those nations by Sept. 1, and the UNHRC will publish the database by the end of this year.

American firms on the list include Caterpillar, TripAdvisor, Priceline and Airbnb, The Washington Post reported.

'[The blacklist] is the latest incarnation of the decades-long Arab boycott and yet another singling out of Israel by the U.N. Because Israel, the Jewish state, alone is singled out, the intent and impact is anti-Semitic,' Anne Herzberg, a U.N. expert and the legal advisor for the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor watchdog group, told JNS.org.

Similarly, Israel's Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon described the list as 'an expression of modern anti-Semitism reminiscent of dark periods in history.'

While the list will have no legal consequences for Israel or the companies involved, its opponents say it could put pressure on the U.N. Security Council to take action...

Herzberg said that while it does not appear Guterres is in favor of the of the blacklist, it might be impossible for him to stop its release.

'Due to the U.N. bureaucracy and the dominance of the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, it would be difficult if not impossible for the secretary-general to halt the process,' she said..."