Arab League is keeping Australia out of the Security Council

The Arab League is blocking Australia's attempt to gain one of the non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council because - you guessed it - the Aussies are deemed too supportive of Israel.

Hashem Yousseff, chief of cabinet for Arab League secretary-general Amr Moussa, told The Australian Canberra kept "bad company" at the UN, where it often opposes anti-Israel resolutions in alliance with the US, Canada and small Pacific island states.

Australia's support for Israel, he said, was "one of the elements that will be taken into consideration" by the 22-member Arab League in deciding whether to support Australia's bid for a seat on the UN Security Council for the 2013-14 term.

Mr Yousseff said the Arab nations would consider how different candidates affected their interests. "For us, the Arab-Israeli issue is an important part of the consideration."

Canberra has invested huge political, diplomatic and financial resources in its bid for one of 10 non-permanent Security Council seats.

But Mr Yousseff's comments indicate it will be difficult for Australia to out-poll the European nations, which are regularly more critical of Israel.

Australia has not held a seat on the Security Council for more than 20 years.

Read the whole thing. For what it's worth, we've never had a seat on the Security Council either, and we are unlikely to ever get one. Given the realities, unless Australia is willing to become as anti-Israel as the Europeans (I hope they're not!), there's not much they can do about this.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:55 PM