Since the founding of the Jewish state, there has been one undeniable and sad fact surrounding Israel’s existence. Aside from the five wars that have threatened its borders and the horrific campaign of suicide bombings and terrorist attacks that have tested its resolve and strength, there has always been an equally insidious, yet quieter movement afoot to undermine and de-legitimize the Jewish state.

This relentless campaign is waged not through rockets and bombs, but through hundreds of deliberate acts of omission, large and small, in international fora. The Arab boycott was one manifestation of this orchestrated attempt to isolate the state of Israel. Yet, through the years there have been countless other insults and exclusions, from Israeli athletes being forbidden from participating in sporting events, to maps showing only “Palestine,” to travel prohibitions for Israeli citizens in Muslim countries, and professional boycotts.

And, as if we needed a reminder as to our unique status in the world, the official recognition of the Holocaust by the United Nations, sixty years after the fact, demonstrated again the hurdles thrown up by those anti-Semitic and anti-Israel forces intent on discrediting, degrading, and discriminating against the Jewish state and people.

With this bleak backdrop of history, there was much to celebrate in the decision by the International Committee of the Red Cross to finally recognize and admit Israel’s emergency services and first-aid organization, the Magen David Adom, as a full member after more than 56 years of exclusion from this important international humanitarian body.

Magen David Adom’s full acceptance at the 29th International Conference of the Red Ross and Red Crescent in Geneva on June 21 was celebrated in Israel and the United States as an important achievement — even a milestone.

Finally, after years of waiting and patient advocacy and diplomacy — not only by the Israelis and world Jewish organizations but by brave allies such as the American Red Cross, which withheld millions in dues to the international organization in protest — finally, there was a measure of justice. Israel’s Red Star of David emblem, long the major sticking point because it was not officially recognized under the 1949 Geneva Conventions, was accepted by the ICRC on condition that it appear within a new “neutral emblem” — the “Red Crystal,” which Israel can display in international operations.

So, should we be cheering this decision? In one respect, yes. It shows that Israel, in the face of repeated challenges, can fight the good fight and ultimately prevail with the help of strong allies willing to stand up against those forces — including the obstreperous Arab and Muslim nations — who would have the process derailed yet again.

But in another respect, the conditional acceptance of Israel’s Red Star of David was another reminder of the Jewish state’s special treatment. For MDA’s acceptance did not come overnight, but after decades of pleading and cajoling with those who used a “fig leaf”— the Star of David — as window dressing for what was, at its core, a discriminatory policy.

Once again, only the Jewish state has to be accorded status only within limits, and within boundaries, while practically all others (in this case, 192 countries) enjoyed the full privileges of membership and recognition without preconditions or compromises. And when Israel is accepted after years of waiting, it comes with a caveat and a price.

And we are supposed to say, “How wonderful.” And yet, how galling to think that Israel could not be treated like everyone else. How outrageous, that the religious symbol of the Jewish people should be treated differently, as an object of derision, rather than an emblem of succor and strength.

The Red Cross emblem was adopted after the movement was founded by Swiss humanitarians in 1863. In 1876, the movement added the Red Crescent, and in 1907, the red lion and sun for Iran. Muslim states argued that their soldiers could be offended by the red cross, which they viewed as symbolic of Christianity and the Crusades. So their symbols were accepted and ratified by the Geneva Conventions without reservation.

But in 1949 the red Star of David, in use since the 1930s when it was established as the official emblem of rescue and medical relief for the Jewish population in Palestine, was peremptorily excluded.

Over the years, even as MDA was involved in providing critical disaster relief in dozens of disasters beyond Israel’s borders, including the 2004 Asian tsunami, its official admission hinged on this technicality. It was argued, absurdly enough, that recognition of the red Shield of David emblem would dilute the organization’s identity through a “proliferation of symbols.”

In the end, a working group devised the so-called “Red Crystal” as a “culturally neutral” alternative to the Star of David.

So, rather than unconditional acceptance, Israel was once again granted a special exception. And the tragedy and the irony was that at the last minute, even after Israel was forced to make this compromise, the Muslim and Arab nations maneuvered yet again to prevent it from happening at all. And we are told to celebrate when it finally comes to pass?

The acceptance of MDA into the international Red Cross should certainly be lauded as a momentous achievement for Israel. But let’s pop the champagne corks another day — that day when the Jewish people and Israel are no longer treated differently simply because of our faith, unity, and resolve as a nation and people.

Mr. Foxman is National Director of the Anti-Defamation League and the author of “Never Again? The Threat of the New Anti-Semitism.”