Israel to aid Qatar in bid for UN Security Council Seat

The Jerusalem Post is reporting that Israel will aid Qatar in its bid for temporary membership on the 2006 UN Security Council. This is very good news. First, an Arab country is seeking aid from Israel! Secondly, if Qatar is selected, it could lessen some of the vitriol directed at Israel by the UN. Qatar is a moderate Middle East country and would be a better choice than Cambodia , which is the other country up for the Asian rotating seat. Pakistan currently holds the seat.

"It's a very hopeful sign that they've even reached out to Israel," observed Amy Goldstein, director of UN affairs for B'nai B'rith International. "It says a lot about how Qatar is trying to position itself, not just as a moderate Arab country, but a country that on the one hand is open to the West and on the other hand will not use its position in the Security Council to politicize the Security Council against Israel."

Qatar is also the headquarters of Al-Jazeera, which of course is very inflammatory, to say the lest, but also has the distinction of the only Arab news that is not controlled by the government.