Chanan Tigay
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NEW YORK
Magen David Adom's longstanding effort to join the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movements has proceeded in fits and starts, so it should have come as no surprise that the latest attempt to clear the major barrier to entry did not go smoothly.
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| The new crystal with a red Magen David Adom inside it, as adopted by the Red Cross last week in Geneva |
| Photo by MDA/BP Images/JTA |
In the end, though, it was a success: Early Thursday morning, Geneva Convention signatory countries adopted a neutral red diamond as an official protective symbol, to go along with the red cross and red crescent.
The move paves the way for MDA to gain full membership in the International Red Cross after nearly 60 years of exclusion due to opposition from Arab and Islamic countries.
"We are blessing the result, and we are very, very encouraged by the achievement," said Reuven Azar, counsel for political affairs at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. "We think that it's a humanitarian issue; it should have been resolved 55 years ago. For political reasons, it was prevented, but fortunately, we found a way to advance on this."
Daniel Allen, the executive vice president of the American Friends of Magen David Adom, called the vote "proof-positive that humanitarian concerns can come first, even in matters related to the Middle East."
Syrian opposition nearly scuttled this week's effort; the country demanded that MDA enter into an agreement with the Syrian Red Crescent Society similar to one MDA signed recently with its Palestinian counterpart concerning how the agencies would operate in eastern Jerusalem.
Under the pact - in which MDA recognized the Palestinian Red Crescent as the national group in the territories - Palestinian ambulances are guaranteed speedier passage through the West Bank.
With support from some Islamic countries, Syria insisted that the Syrian Red Crescent be allowed to operate in the Golan Heights, which Israel conquered from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War. Participants said the demand was an obvious nonstarter for Israel, which doesn't consider the Golan occupied territory.
As the conference dragged on without consensus, concern grew that the protocol, thought to be a sure thing going into the meeting, might fail. It was Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey who finally pushed the measure through.
As guardian of the Geneva Conventions, Switzerland had hoped the measure wouldn't have to come to a vote: The Red Cross traditionally makes decisions by consensus, giving the appearance of unanimity.
But after three days of intense negotiations - in which Switzerland and Pakistan often acted as intermediaries for the feuding nations - it finally became clear that there simply was not unanimity, though there was the two-thirds majority needed to pass the measure.
Calmy-Rey finally put the issue to a vote at 2 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 8. It passed 98-27, with 10 abstentions.
The MDA will continue to use the red Star of David when operating in Israel. When working abroad, MDA personnel will display the star inside the red diamond.
Jewish groups welcomed adoption of the red diamond, and hoped that the development would lead to the MDA's full membership in the international organization.
A spokesman for U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said that Annan was "delighted" by the decision, and "hopes in particular that it will open the way for societies that are not yet formally part of the movement, such as the Israeli Magen David Adom, to be admitted as full members."
Adam Ereli, the U.S. State Department spokesman, called the decision a "historic and significant" step toward "meeting the movement's goal of being truly universal."
Arab opposition has shut Israel out of the organization for decades. The Jewish state's candidacy was rejected during the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which insisted that new aid groups adopt the Red Cross emblem.
Among the major stumbling blocks has been Arab and Muslim states' refusal to accept the Star of David, arguing that official symbols couldn't be changed, though the conventions indeed were changed to include the Islamic red crescent.
Backers of Israel believed the protocol would be approved easily this year. But trouble began on the first day of the conference when Syria - which demanded a deal like the Palestinians' - made it clear it wasn't ready to move forward.
That set off three days of negotiations and sparked a series of proposed amendments from the Organization of the Islamic Conference that would, for example, have removed any mention of MDA from the measure.
"It was pretty frustrating," said Michael Thaidigsmann of the World Jewish Congress Brussels office. "People were thinking, 'Okay, there's Syria, but they have no real allies.' "
As it turned out, Syria did have allies among Islamic nations. As negotiations to break the impasse dragged on, plenary meetings were called on an almost hourly basis, then postponed to give negotiators time to hammer out a deal or give the Islamic countries time to meet.
Late Wednesday, participants heard from the Chilean ambassador, who suggested an amendment in which Israel and Syria would agree to resolve their issues at a later date.
After internal consultations, however, the Islamic countries decided the amendment didn't go far enough; eventually, it was dropped.
Jewish officials commended the Swiss role in pushing through the diamond, and said Pakistan's role as a facilitator was notable.
Said Shai Franklin, director of international organizations for the World Jewish Congress, "They continued to be of help at a time when a number of Arab and Islamic states wanted to really turn this into an issue."
A conference to admit MDA to the international movement is expected some time in 2006.
