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...the Red Crystal? Even though they already have a Red Star? Lame. 
Red Cross creates new emblem to let Israel join
19 minutes ago
GENEVA (AFP) - Geneva Convention member states decided by a two-thirds majority to create a new emblem that would enable
Israel to join the international Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, diplomats said.
A total 125 countries took part in a vote, with 98 voting for and 27 against with 10 more abstaining. Most of the hostile votes were from Arab and Muslim countries.
Talks which started Monday and were originally scheduled to end Tuesday ground on into Wednesday and then Thursday as negotiators tried to overcome objections by
Syria, which traded jibes with Israel about who was to blame.
The new "red crystal" emblem would join the Red Cross and Red Crescent and ease the way for Israel's Magen David Adom (MDA - Red Star of David) organisation to become part of the international emergency service and humanitarian network.
The MDA is officially unrecognized in the Geneva Conventions, signed by 192 countries including Israel, because its emblem does not conform with longstanding rules allowing only a cross or a crescent.
Abdul Rahman Attar, head of the Syrian Red Crescent, had told journalists his country was still demanding an agreement on humanitarian aid in the Israeli-occupied Golan heights as a condition for approving the new emblem.
Syria says Israel is neglecting the health needs of the 25,000 Syrian citizens who live in the Golan, which Israel annexed in 1981.
Attar claimed the MDA only gives "selective" treatment to Syrians who are prepared to accept Israeli rule in the Golan.
Switzerland tried in vain for three days to mediate between the Israelis and Syrians to reach a consensus before deciding to call a vote late on Wednesday night.
The two-thirds majority was sufficient for a decision, though unanimity is more usual in the Red Cross.
19 minutes ago
GENEVA (AFP) - Geneva Convention member states decided by a two-thirds majority to create a new emblem that would enable
Israel to join the international Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, diplomats said.
A total 125 countries took part in a vote, with 98 voting for and 27 against with 10 more abstaining. Most of the hostile votes were from Arab and Muslim countries.
Talks which started Monday and were originally scheduled to end Tuesday ground on into Wednesday and then Thursday as negotiators tried to overcome objections by
Syria, which traded jibes with Israel about who was to blame.
The new "red crystal" emblem would join the Red Cross and Red Crescent and ease the way for Israel's Magen David Adom (MDA - Red Star of David) organisation to become part of the international emergency service and humanitarian network.
The MDA is officially unrecognized in the Geneva Conventions, signed by 192 countries including Israel, because its emblem does not conform with longstanding rules allowing only a cross or a crescent.
Abdul Rahman Attar, head of the Syrian Red Crescent, had told journalists his country was still demanding an agreement on humanitarian aid in the Israeli-occupied Golan heights as a condition for approving the new emblem.
Syria says Israel is neglecting the health needs of the 25,000 Syrian citizens who live in the Golan, which Israel annexed in 1981.
Attar claimed the MDA only gives "selective" treatment to Syrians who are prepared to accept Israeli rule in the Golan.
Switzerland tried in vain for three days to mediate between the Israelis and Syrians to reach a consensus before deciding to call a vote late on Wednesday night.
The two-thirds majority was sufficient for a decision, though unanimity is more usual in the Red Cross.
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