When António Guterres said on June 21 that Israel and Lebanon must “immediately return to a cessation of hostilities,” the U.N. secretary-general appeared to make “a moral equivalence between the parties to the conflict along the Israeli-Lebanese border,” according to Ted Deutch, CEO of American Jewish Committee.
“Israel doesn’t deny the right of Lebanon or Iran to exist. Conversely, Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah, do reject Israel’s very existence,” Deutch wrote to Guterres on Monday.
“This is the reason Hezbollah, at Iran’s encouragement, has fired thousands of missiles, anti-tank rockets and other weapons into Israel in recent months,” he added. “There can be no moral equivalence between those who recognize the right of other U.N. members to exist and those who don’t. Sadly, your statement ignores this critical distinction.”
