Israel’s acceptance as a full member of the Western European and Others Group (WEOG) on a temporary basis is a long-awaited and welcome development that will serve as a significant step toward normalizing Israel’s relationship with the United Nations.

The effort to reach this agreement was long and difficult, but it is an achievement in which we can all be proud. We strongly commend the Clinton Administration’s efforts to achieve this goal, and in particular the work in past months of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and his team at the United States Mission to the United Nations. We fully agree with Ambassador Holbrooke that this "is a historic step forward in the elimination of a huge injustice."

We applaud and are grateful to all members of Congress who have been supportive of the effort to allow Israel to join WEOG. Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s help in this regard are appreciated as well.

While there is still much that can be done to normalize Israel’s relationship with the United Nations, this development is an important step that should serve as an impetus for further cooperation between Israel and the international body.