Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan hung a yellow star on his chest during a Security Council meeting on Monday, pledging that he would wear it “with pride” as long as the council did not condemn “the atrocities” of Hamas.
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“Some of you haven’t learned anything in the last 80 years. “Some of you have forgotten why this organization (the United Nations) was founded,” the ambassador said, denouncing the Security Council’s “silence” on the Palestinian Islamist movement’s unprecedented attacks on October 7.
The deeply divided council did not pass a resolution on the war between Israel and Hamas.
“Then I’ll remind you. From this day on, every time you look at me, you will remember what it means to remain silent in the face of evil,” the Israeli ambassador said.
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“Like my grandparents and the grandparents of millions of Jews, my team and I will wear yellow stars from today on,” he added, standing to hang a yellow star with the inscription “Never again.” Nazis were prescribed.
“We will wear this star until you wake up and condemn Hamas’ atrocities.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the October 7 attacks “the worst crime against Jews since the Holocaust.”
For two weeks, the UN Security Council has exposed its deep divisions over this war and its impact, rejecting four draft resolutions. Certain texts were blocked in particular by the United States, Israel’s ally, because they did not mention Israel’s right to self-defense.
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Another proposal put forward by the Americans was blocked, particularly by Russia and China, because it did not clearly call for a ceasefire.
Faced with this impasse in the Council, the General Assembly on Friday adopted by a large majority a non-binding resolution that called for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” but made no mention of Hamas. A text that Ambassador Erdan then described as a “disgrace”.
During Monday’s Security Council meeting, several speakers condemned Hamas’ attacks while emphasizing the price paid by Gazans. “The current siege of Gaza is a collective punishment,” denounced Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).