Israel elected vice president of UN General Assembly

6/14/2005

Israel’s ambassador to the UN has been elected one of the 21 Vice Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly.

The assembly elected Dan Gillerman to be the next vice president of its 60th session which begins with the summit of the world leaders on September 14.

"This is an important and historical moment for the State of Israel, both in essence and in timing," said Gillerman of his election.

The assembly selected Swedish diplomat Jan Eliasson as its president.

The Vice Presidents are nominated by various regional groups and Israel was nominated by the Western European and Other Group - WEOG - apparently under the United States pressure.

Israel should normally be the member of the Asian group but Arab countries have blocked its admission and hence it could not join any of the key panels and committees, including the Security Council.

But in 2000, WEOG, a grouping of the United States, Europeans, North America and other countries, invited Israel to be its temporary member until it is admitted in the Asian group.

The vice president is responsible for running General Assembly discussions in the president's absence, and is a member of the committee that determines the assembly's daily agenda.

This is the second time that an Israeli ambassador holds this post, which was previously held by the late Israeli diplomat Abba Eban 53 years ago.