CALL ME MAGGIE

Recently the UN voted to make the Palestinian territories as a “non-member observer state,” rather than a “non-member observer entity.” The vote was 73% to 5% with 22% abstaining.

As I’ve previously noted, I think the UN is a now-worthless organization, and CNN gives a good interpretation of the facts on the ground here if you’re interested.

My own take on this vote is scrambled, so bear with me as I lay it out here.

The Israelis have objected to this vote because they argue that the Palestinians are trying to forego direct negotiations with the Israelis. This is a fair objection.

However, the Israelis often argue that their state was legitimized when the UN voted in favor of a 1947 partition plan (the vote was 72% to 13% with 15% abstaining). That is to say, there were no direct negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians when the…