RED CROSS EMBLEM RESOLUTION IS AN ABDICATION OF RESPONSIBILITY

ICRC continues to discriminate against Israel’s full membership

November 14, 2001

For Immediate Release

Toronto, November 14, 2001… B’nai Brith Canada reacted with disappointment to a resolution on the long-outstanding emblem issue just passed by the Council of Delegates of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which concluded its meetings in Geneva today.

As early as 1949, Israel’s Magen David Adom was refused recognition by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) because it would not agree to adopt one of the three ICRC symbols, the original red cross, the red crescent symbol which was recognized in 1929 at the insistence of Turkey and Egypt, or the red lion and sun which was created especially to respect Iran’s sensibilities in the time of the Shah but is no longer used. In 1986 the name of the Red Cross organization was changed to the International Movement of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, again to accommodate the Arab and Muslim groups. At the same time, Israel’s application was again turned down because the Movement refused to recognize the Star of David symbol of the Magen David Adom society.

Rochelle Wilner, National President of B’nai Brith Canada, commented: “After years of consultations to resolve this issue so that Israel’s Magen David Adom could become a full member of the ICRC, today’s resolution is an abdication of responsibility by the organization’s leadership. We are unimpressed by the Council’s plan to have further ‘high level consultations’ when these are geared towards the creation of an additional emblem, which ‘can have no religious, political or cultural connotations whatsoever’. The Red Cross and the Red Crescent symbols have clear religious, political and cultural connotations and the suggested solution just skirts the issue.”

Frank Dimant, Executive Vice President, noted that this resolution contravenes the Fundamental Principles of the ICRC movement which state that there should be ‘no discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class, or political opinions.’ “What could be more politically and religiously charged”, he asked “than the continued exclusion of Israel based on the ‘inadmissibility’ of the Star of David emblem, which is, after all, the religious symbol of the Jewish people as well as the national symbol of the State of Israel.? The Magen David Adom has a sterling record of humanitarian service, which is devalued by this decision. We call on the Canadian Red Cross to reconsider its support of a movement that institutionalizes discrimination in this way.”

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For more information, please contact:
Rochelle Wilner or Frank Dimant at (416) 633-6224

B’nai Brith has been active in Canada since 1875 as the community’s senior human rights organization.