Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, and his team made a poignant and symbolic statement during an emergency session of the Security Council. The session had been convened at the request of the United Arab Emirates to address the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. Ambassador Erdan and his staff donned yellow Star of David patches on their clothing during the discussion, invoking a dark chapter in history.
In his address to the Security Council, Ambassador Erdan minced no words, delivering powerful quotes that reverberated throughout the assembly. He vehemently criticized the Council for what he perceived as its failure to condemn the atrocities committed by Hamas terrorists. He began by evoking the haunting memories of his own family's suffering during the Holocaust, emphasizing that during those dark days, the world remained silent in the face of unspeakable evil. He stressed, "When my grandfather and his children were sent to Auschwitz, the world was silent. When his wife and their seven children were sent to the gas chambers, the world was silent. When their bodies were burned alongside millions of Jewish babies, the world was silent. Today, after Jewish babies were burned alive again, the Security Council is silent. Some of you have learned nothing in the last eighty years. Some of you have forgotten why the UN was founded. So I will remind you. From today on, every time you look at me, you will remember. Remember what it is to be silent in the face of evil. Just like my grandparents, and the grandparents of millions of Jews, from now on, my team and I will wear a yellow patch on our clothes."
@antonioguterres, mass-murdering terrorists are using your repulsive remark to justify their crimes against humanity.
โ Ambassador Gilad Erdan ืืืขื ืืจืื (@giladerdan1) October 29, 2023
By showing an understanding for terror, you vindicate it!
The @UN has become a moral stain on humanity. You must resign now! pic.twitter.com/8hmGPxpZsA
Ambassador Erdan's statement was not just a condemnation of the Security Council's perceived inaction; it was a poignant reminder of the significance of the United Nations and its founding principles. He urged the Council members to recall their duty to prevent the recurrence of such silence in the face of evil.
Throughout his speech, Erdan made striking comparisons. He likened Ayatollah Khamenei to Hitler, asserting, "If Hitler had a Twitter account, it would look exactly like Khamenei's Twitter account." He argued that the Iranian regime, led by Khamenei, had forged an alliance with various terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Revolutionary Guards, equating it to the Nazi regime of the past.
Erdan didn't stop at historical comparisons. He connected the UN's perceived silence to a troubling rise in global antisemitism. He contended, "They saw that this council did not even condemn the Nazi murderers. They saw the UN General Assembly cheering efforts to prevent us from defending ourselves. They heard the UN Secretary-General express 'understanding' of the Nazi massacre. This is why we see today the most extreme rise in hatred of Jews since the Nuremberg Laws. They got power. Now they know that the slaughter of Jews is once again accepted in the world with silence."
Defund the @UN!
โ Ambassador Gilad Erdan ืืืขื ืืจืื (@giladerdan1) October 29, 2023
In an interview with @FoxNews, I emphasized that the UN has lost its relevance and legitimacy. Today, every decent country should stop funding the UN until the bias and antisemitism stops.
It is impossible to continue with business as usual when it is clearโฆ pic.twitter.com/1xZ43f5zGA
The ambassador also criticized the Security Council's priorities, drawing an analogy to World War II. He argued, "If this council had met in June 1944, it would have dealt with the amount of fuel the Nazis had and the high number of casualties Germany had compared to Great Britain. You would have called for a ceasefire even before the Russians took over Stalingrad."
