The Oct. 14 appearance of Hagai El-Ad, the executive director of the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories — B’Tselem, before the UN Security Council to address the twin issues of Jewish construction in the occupied territories and the demolition of Palestinian homes there generated a slew of Israeli condemnations against Israeli peace and human rights groups.

B’Tselem was castigated not only for airing Israel’s dirty laundry on the world stage, but also for crossing the line between legitimate objective reporting of Israeli human rights abuses in Area C, which is under Israeli control, and actively encouraging the international community to do something about it.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described B’Tselem as a “flash in the pan,” an organization seeking to use international force to accomplish what it failed to achieve through democratic elections. Al-Monitor columnist Mazal Mualem argued that El-Ad had played into the hands of the right, dubbing his appearance “imprudent.” On the other hand, Al-Monitor columnist Shlomi Eldar wrote that the activities of these organizations on the international stage is clear proof to the world that only part of the Israeli public supports the continuation of the occupation. The editorial board of Israeli daily Haaretz also praised B’Tselem, and argued that not only was it the organization’s right to sound its important and courageous message to members of the UN Security Council, it was its duty.

As we know, the prime minister considered his March 2015 speech before Congress in an effort to undermine the Obama administration’s policy on Iran as a heroic act. But one can only surmise how Netanyahu would have reacted if opposition head Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Camp would have invited to the Knesset the US president, for him to express his objection to the Israeli government’s settlement policy.