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Seven Jewish groups, including B'nai B'rith and the American Jewish Committee, already have consultative status on the committee, along with more than 1,000 other nongovernmental organizations.

Hassan Najem, Lebanon's representative to the 19-member committee — which is chaired by Tunisia and includes several countries that are hostile to Israel — moved to reject Hadassah's application.

In the hearing, Najem and representatives of other Arab countries, including Syria and the Palestinian Authority, which are observers on the committee, described Zionism as racism and questioned Hadassah repeatedly about its Zionist ties.

A decision on whether to accept Hadassah was deferred until the committee's next meeting, scheduled for May.

Following the meeting, Hadassah President Bonnie Lipton expressed her displeasure with the hearing.

"While Syria and Lebanon speak the language of peace in negotiations with Israel, their behavior yesterday in the United Nations was most objectionable," she said. "By raising the rescinded and repudiated 'Zionism Is Racism' resolution, they once again identify themselves with the rejectionist camp rather than those seeking peace in the Middle East."

According to Amy Goldstein, the director of Israeli, Zionist and international affairs for Hadassah, an organization known for its hospitals in Jerusalem that serve Jews and Palestinians, representatives on the U.N. committee "saluted our work," but repeatedly asked Hadassah officials to clarify their definition of Zionism.

"They stated that our definition of Zionism is not Zionism and insisted that Zionism is not just a political movement but inherently racist," said Goldstein, explaining that Hadassah describes its philosophy as "practical Zionism."