Good news for Israel.
The Arab League and the Third World Mafia don’t control the OECD (Organization of Economically Developed Countries). The Arab League gets a special working group called “MENA” for Mideastern Islamic countries. Barbarians with money aren’t the same as Economically Developed Countries.
Wall Street Journal – JERUSALEM—Israel has been accepted as a new, full member of the Organization for Economic Cooperation, the Israeli finance ministry said Monday.
Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s finance minister, said in a statement that joining the OECD was “a badge of honor” for Israel, whose economy has shown strength, even during the world economic crisis. The decision “fills our hearts with pride,” he said. But he added that “we are only at the beginning of the road. Israel will need to continue proving the economy’s stability.”
The 31 current member countries of the OECD unanimously approved Israel as a new member. Israeli officials had expressed worry earlier Monday about recent efforts by the Palestinian Authority to block Israel’s entry.
Last week, the PA’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Riyad al-Maliki sent letters to OECD leaders and foreign ministers of member countries, asking them not to approve Israel’s entry. Doing so would legitimize Israel’s “dangerous,” “illegal,” and “racist” policies toward Palestinian residents of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, Mr. Maliki wrote.
Before the approval was officially announced Monday, Ghassan Khatib, spokesman for the PA’s Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, said the OECD’s vote on Israel was “premature because Israel needs to show its seriousness towards the peace process and international law in order to get such a privilege.”
Mr. Khatib said the PA government was in a weekly cabinet meeting at the time of the OECD vote, and would convene again after the meeting to discuss the decision.
Israel was one of the few economies in the world to show growth in 2009 during the world economic crisis, drawing praise from the OECD. Israel’s gross domestic product grew 0.7% in 2009, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics. The OECD expects Israel’s economy to grow at least 3.5% in 2010.
