A U.N. Day answer to charges of antisemitism

This U.N. Day, Oct. 24, marks the 80th anniversary of the United Nations. There are many reasons to celebrate the efforts of those who brought this multilateral organization to life at the close of the horrors of World War II. Its commitment to multilateral negotiations as an alternative to violence as well as its dedication to the alleviation of hunger and poverty and to the defense of human rights are among those reasons.

Those who founded the U.N., very much influenced by American participants and American values, created mechanisms such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Court of Justice to create a world stage on which violations of human rights could be made visible to all.

As a chapter of the United Nations Association-USA, Johnson County UNA — like our sister chapter in Linn County — exists to educate about and advocate for support of the United Nations in all its efforts. We are nonpartisan. In this capacity, we meet with our Iowa delegation to Congress and their staff members both in Iowa and in Washington, D.C. as they make themselves available.

At the summer 2025 meeting in Washington with Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks, our delegation spoke about the benefits to the United States of maintaining U.S. presence, support, and therefore influence in the work of the United Nations. The meeting was cordial, but at its close the representative asserted that the United Nations is antisemitic and against western cultural values. The delegation brought this report home to our chapter.

This is serious criticism that we want to address. On the second point, the U.N. Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) stand as foundational evidence that western values, such as those expressed in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, are prominent in these two key documents that govern U.N. activities. Anyone who holds the U.S. and U.N. founding documents side by side will see how much the first is present in the second.

On the first point, we decided it most important to invite a wider community conversation about exactly who means what when the charge of antisemitism is made. We have invited Elizabeth Heineman, University of Iowa historian, and instructor of a course on Zionism, to lead that conversation. She will offer a lecture entitled “Understanding Antisemitism” at noon on Wednesday, Oct. 22, at the Iowa City Public Library. We think this is a fitting way to celebrate U.N. Day.

The history of the nation of Israel and the entanglements of American politics in the charge of antisemitism are complications not easily sorted, but calm deliberation in the face of chaos may be a place to start, as Shaul Magid observes in “The Necessity of Exile.” All are invited to join us on Oct. 22, noon, at the Iowa City Public Library as we deepen our understanding of antisemitism.

Barbara Eckstein is president of the Johnson County chapter of the United Nations Association.