Leaders Meet New U.N. Chief
As Kofi Annan exits the scene, his successor, Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, has been making his first set of public appearances and speeches. In addition, he has held private meetings with a variety of interlocutors, including Jewish groups.
Jewish communal officials who recently have met Ban noted his underwhelming personality and his lack of familiarity with Israel and Jewish issues, but said that his first steps have been appreciated.
The national director of the Anti-Defamation League, Abraham Foxman, said that he was impressed with Ban. According to Foxman, Ban stressed that the onus of solving the Middle East conflict laid primarily with the Israelis and the Palestinians rather than with the international community; the new U.N. chief also harshly criticized Iran for holding a conference featuring Holocaust deniers. “He comes from a Tabula Rasa perspective and with an open mind,” Foxman said. “He is willing to listen and learn and be a friend. A lot will depend on his advisers.”
Edward Luck, a United Nations expert at Columbia University who knows Ban well and has been rumored to be in line to become one of his advisers, echoed the impression that the new secretary general’s fresh slate was an advantage.
This week Ban told a South Korean newspaper that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would aid progress on other Mideast issues.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
