A great deal of criticism has been voiced at the United Nations for failing in this task because it has no accountability and therefore does not command the respect of its member states. A true and lasting venue for constructive engagement must be built upon universal ethical principles: a foundation that all sides recognize as sacred. There is only one place in the world that commands the respect and awe of a majority of the world’s nations and its three major religions: Jerusalem, the Holy City.

The world needs a non-political body alongside the United Nations, where the best minds of the nations would develop universal ethical norms that would be observed by all the governments and serve as basis for solving humanity’s major global problems.

Unlike the current U.N. framework, governments will not be represented at the Council. It will be comprised of the best minds of 12 world’s principal civilizations. It is the civilizations that, with their distinct cultures and religious philosophies, are the real players on the world stage, and conflicts between them are the most dangerous and destructive. In the Council they will be represented by individuals who carry moral and intellectual authority with their respective civilizations.

These individuals will be chosen through independent public opinion polls, rather than nominated by their governments. In Persian and Arab civilizations, where most regimes are non-democratic and expression of free will is nonexistent, Council members will be selected from among exiled dissidents.

Council members will not be accountable to their governments, nor be dependent on them, either financially or legally. They will be guided solely by their conscience and major universal ethic principles

The membership of the Council and its Executive Committee will be fully rotated on the annual basis. The Executive Committee will draft the agenda, and administer the Council’s sessions in Jerusalem. Council members in their respective civilizations will be selected by regional Jerusalem Summits. JS Asia, JS America, and JS Europe have already been created.

Council will not issue any binding resolutions. Rather, it will strive to gain moral authority, so that its recommendations, developed in the spirit of moral clarity and caring for future generations, eventually become guidelines for the world leaders.

Principles of the Council of Civilizations

Three-fold actions:

1. Facilitate synergy of civilizations and search for morality-based solutions.
2. Propagate these solutions and advise governments to adopt them.
3.Advance Global Education to Universal Moral Values.

The seat of the Council will be in Jerusalem with regional bureaus in each of the represented civilizations and a permanent bureau at U.N. Headquarters in New York.

Framework:

Admission to the Council of Civilizations is subject to recognizing the following realities:

1. The spiritual laws that serve as common basis to all religions must also serve as basis for taking decisions in all the human activities. Most important of these laws are:

Composition of the Council

Jerusalem has always served as a source for the universal concern for all the nations on earth. The Bible indictates that in addition to Israel, there are seventy ancient nations which are the roots of the diverse national groups and cultures which exist today and which are based on the number of descendants of Noah which are listed in the Book of Genesis, after the story of the great flood. Seventy names are recorded, and at the end of the section it states, ‘These are the families of Noah’s descendants, and from these nations were separated on on the earth after the flood" (Genesis 10:2). The Bible commands the people of Israel to bring seventy offerings on behalf of the seventy nations to the Temple on the Festival of Tabernacles to pray to the Almighty for continued life, sustenance and blessings for the seventy nations. Representatives of the seventy nations were present in Jerusalem at the time at the presentation of these offerings. The seventy nations are the main players in the modern world. Today they are categorized as the major superpowers that represent separate civilizations. Other individual civilizations are represented by the clusters of countries, or regional groups. The major threat to the world peace comes from the clashes of these civilizations.

The Council of Civilizations is not a Religious/Ecumenical forum and it is not a purely secular Academic/Political institute. It is a framework for the best and purest minds and hearts of the civilized world – to guide the world towards spiritual and moral renewal.

What the Council will actually DO?

- It will develop an efficient Alternative Model for decision making in world politics: Decision through Wisdom and Ethics not through political or military Force (Realpolitik).

- It will give practical recommendations on how to solve the most crucial global problems through applying integrating consciousness, reconciling competing geo-political, geo-economic and geo-cultural projects.

Philippines hosts Israel solidarity conference

A group of 200 Christian leaders from seven Asian countries met in the Philippines this week in a show of solidarity with Israel.

The first "Jerusalem Summit Asia," which was inspired by the Jerusalem Summit held in Israel last fall, brought together Christian friends of Israel from the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Burma, Thailand, India, and Taiwan, along with members of the Knesset's Christian Allies Caucus, which aims to garner the support of, and work with, pro-Israel Christians around the world.

"This historic event heralds a new era of cooperation between Israel and Asia," said the co-chairman of the Christian Allies Caucus, MK Yuri Shtern (National Union) in a telephone interview from Manila.

A declaration passed by the evangelical members of the conference at the conclusion of the two-day meet called on their governments to move their embassies to Jerusalem, not to vote against Israel at the United Nations, and to scrutinize the financial aid their countries are providing to the Palestinian Authority, said Dmitry Radyshevsky, the executive director of the Jerusalem Summit, an annual meeting of conservative thinkers.

"This unprecedented gathering will have a long-lasting effect on Israeli-Asian relations," said caucus director Josh Reinstein, adding that Singapore had agreed to host a similar event in Asia next year.