‘This Is Not Off to a Good Start’: Trump’s ‘Board of Peace,’ Double-Standards, the UN, and the Kurds

A Conversation with Joël Rubinfeld – Part III

by Grégoire Canlorbe  •  July 15, 2026

“International law, a noble concept in itself, is today being perverted — serving as a shield for some of the worst executioners on the planet. Have the West’s useful idiots of the Islamic Republic of Iran already forgotten the tens of thousands of unarmed Iranian citizens massacred by their own horrific government in just two days, on January 8 and 9?” — Joël Rubinfeld. Pictured: Joël Rubinfeld. Screengrab via Youtube.

• The Kurds are a valiant people who have repeatedly stood by the West. This was evident in the role of the Peshmerga in the fight against the Islamic State. Whenever they were called upon, they answered. Then, every time the crisis had passed, they were abandoned again to their fate.

• In that respect, Trump is doing nothing different from his predecessors: no one cares about the Kurds unless they are needed.
• Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) has called Iran “a 47-year-old war crime.” Those who invoke international law to denounce the ongoing war against the regime of the mullahs are, in fact, pleading for the survival of a regime that has crushed its people for 47 years.
• International law, a noble concept in itself, is today being perverted — serving as a shield for some of the worst executioners on the planet. Have the West’s useful idiots of the Islamic Republic of Iran already forgotten the tens of thousands of unarmed Iranian citizens massacred by their own horrific government in just two days, on January 8 and 9?
• When one looks at the composition of the Board of Peace — with countries such as Turkey or Qatar — one thinks: this is not off to a good start. The risk is that it will reproduce the same problems as before.
• If tomorrow the “Board of Peace” shifts to a system in which each country has equal weight, why would the whole operation not fall back into the same structural bias as the UN — the one that favors dictatorships and authoritarian regimes?
• Sadly, this “Board of Peace” does not seem to solve the underlying problem we face at the UN: it risks merely shifting it elsewhere without correcting it.
• When you see Jewish graves desecrated, Jewish artists, intellectuals, athletes and businesses boycotted, incitement to violence against Jews, demonstrations where thousands chant for the destruction of the Jewish state or glorify the “martyrs” Sinwar and Nasrallah — and where leading political figures join these marches — you realize there is a serious problem in my country….
• No one has said: “From now on, baptisms must be performed by lifeguards,” or “this sacrament should be taken away from priests.” It is easy to see how absurd this would be.
• What this dispute actually highlights is the disproportionate response of the Belgian judicial system when it comes to Jews.
• [W]hen it comes to antisemitism — explicit, documented, undeniable — the response is most often inadequate or nonexistent. On October 7, 2024, exactly one year after the October 7 jihad, pro-Palestinian demonstration took place in Brussels, in the heart of the capital. From the stage, a speaker intoned in Arabic: “O Allah, burn the Jews” — and the crowd responded in unison, “Ameen.” We filed a complaint with the Brussels public prosecutor’s office, together with video evidence. To this day, there has been no response—not even an acknowledgment of receipt.
• One can discuss complex and nuanced cases, where intention and context may be debated. But when statements are as explicit as “Jews forbidden,” “Burn the Jews,” “I feel like plunging a knife into the throat of every Jew,” or “Jews are real psychopaths, serial killers,” a judge—even a novice—should, without question, condemn such remarks as violations of Belgium’s 1981 law against racism and xenophobia.
• That is where the contrast becomes unacceptable: a complaint filed by an alleged antisemite triggers an investigation, while antisemitic acts and statements themselves go unpunished.
• We are not in 1933. But there are echoes that recall the darker chapters of history: antisemitic agitation in the streets, attacks on religious practices, physical assaults on Jews, political and media incitement, boycotts of Jewish figures and businesses, the need for Jews to conceal their identity, and the failure of the justice system to protect them.

Joël Rubinfeld is a founding member and president of the Belgian League Against Antisemitism and president of the Jewish Coalition for Kurdistan. He was president of the Coordinating Committee of Jewish Organizations in Belgium, vice-president of the European Jewish Congress, and co-chairman of the European Jewish Parliament.

• Read Part I: ‘Israel, the Dreyfus of Nations’
• Read Part II: ‘There Is a Serious Problem in My Country’

Canlorbe: In your view, is Trump’s Board of Peace a viable alternative to the UN, one that could also put an end to the unfair, demonizing treatment of Israel?

Rubinfeld: When I look at the composition of the “Board of Peace,” I am skeptical.

What is paradoxical is that the founding idea of the UN is fascinating: to bring everyone to the table and try to resolve conflicts through diplomacy. In principle, it is even admirable and carried promise.

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