Israel’s UN envoy wore a yellow star on his chest when he addressed the Security Council on Monday, threatening to wear the emblem until members of the body condemned Hamas’ atrocities.
“Some of you have learned absolutely nothing in the last 80 years. Some of you have forgotten why this body was established”, envoy Gilad Erdan remarked, criticizing the Security Council for staying silent in the aftermath of the unprecedented lethal strikes by Hamas operatives on Israel on October 7.
The bitterly split 15-member council has yet to pass a single resolution on Israel’s three-week-long battle with Hamas.
“So, I will remind you. From this day on, each time you look at me you will remember what staying silent in the face of evil means”, the ambassador continued.
“From now on, my team and I will wear yellow stars, just like my grandparents and the grandparents of millions of Jews”, he added, standing up to pin one on the breast of his suit engraved with the words ‘Never Again’, a reference to the yellow stars Jews were forced to wear by the Nazis.
“Erdan, on the other hand, will wear it as a symbol of pride”, he continued.
He went on to say, “We will wear this star until you wake up and condemn the atrocities of Hamas”.
According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the October 7 attacks were the worst against Jews since the Holocaust.
For weeks, the Security Council has been divided over the war and its consequences, rejecting four draft resolutions on the crisis.
The United States, a staunch Israel supporter, banned some texts because they did not reference Israel’s right to self-defense.
Another American proposal was thwarted by Russia and China in particular because it did not explicitly call for a cease-fire.
In view of the standoff, the UN General Assembly passed a nonbinding resolution seeking an immediate humanitarian truce, but without mentioning Hamas.
Israel, through Erdan, condemned the passage, saying it would go down in history as infamy.
Several speakers at Monday’s Security Council meeting, while condemning Hamas strikes, emphasized the cost borne by residents of Gaza, where health officials claim more than 8,300 people have been killed in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.
According to Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the siege of Gaza amounts to collective punishment for its citizens.
Also read: Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Slams Intel Chiefs Over Hamas Attack, Later Apologizes
