(JNS.org) The U.N.’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry, attempted to clarify U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s seemingly conflicting statements regarding anti-Israel bias at the world body, stating that Ban did not retract his original statement confirming the existence of that bias. On August 16, Ban told university students at the U.N. headquarters in Jerusalem, “Unfortunately, because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israel has been weighed down by criticism and suffered from bias and sometimes even discrimination.” But when later pressed by reporters in New York about his statements regarding U.N. discrimination against Israel, Ban answered, “No, I don’t think there is discrimination against Israel at the United Nations. The Israeli government in fact, you know, raised this issue that [there is] some bias against Israel.” In an interview on Israel Radio on Sunday, however, Serry said that Ban meant what he originally said. “I’ve been in touch with the Secretary-General’s office in New York, and I can assure you that what he said there in New York was not meant as a retraction,” Serry said on Israel Radio.