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Amb. Gilad Erdan: Standing Up for Israel – and For Jews Worldwide
Ambassador Gilad Erdan, Israel Ambassador to the United nations, recently visited the Orthodox Jewish community of Atlanta, Georgia. The Ambassador was accompanied by rabbi Pesach lerner, chairman of the Eretz Hakodesh party in the WZO-Israel, who initiated the visit. Eretz Hakodesh’s mission includes introducing Israel’s official representatives to the Orthodox Torah community, showcasing our growth and activities, showing that the Orthodox Jewish community is the most active and connected of diaspora Jewry.
Below is the speech of Ambassador Gilad Erdan, Israel’s Ambassador to the United nations, given at Congregation Beth Jacob, Atlanta, Georgia, on monday evening, november 21, 2022.
(The speech was edited, with permission, for publication)
Standing Up for Israel – and For Jews Worldwide
By AmB. GIlAd ErdAn
Iwould like to begin by thanking Rabbi Ilan Feldman and Rabbi Yitzchok Tendler, without whom tonight’s event would not have been possible. The community that you lead exemplifies Jewish values. Halacha, masoret, tefilah, chessed, a love for
Israel, and the list goes on. Thank you for inspiring this amazing force for good!
I would like to thank my dear friend Rabbi Pesach
Lerner, founder and chairman of Eretz Hakodesh. Rabbi
Lerner, your dedication to Israel is truly uplifting and your commitment to connecting so many Jews to the
Jewish homeland is something that I am deeply grateful for. Todah!
When Rabbi Lerner first suggested that I come to Atlanta to visit this unbelievable community, I immediately agreed. I could never miss out on meeting a community that represents Jewish principles, Jewish unity, and
Jewish continuity.
As Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, I may represent the Jewish State on the international stage, yet
Israel is not just home to its nearly ten-million citizens.
It is also the home of the entire Jewish people spread across the diaspora – it is the home of each and every one of us. This is why, when I defend Israel in the UN halls,
I know that I am also standing up for my people – the
Jewish people.
It is my mission to not only strengthen the relations between Israel and the international community, but also to strengthen Jewish unity among the diverse communities – both in Israel and abroad. We are one big family and meeting and speaking with Jewish communities across America is a top priority of mine.
And communities that are so deeply connected to Jewish values, such as the Beth Jacob community, hold extra significance, which I learned from my family’s story.
My grandfather, Saba Chaim, lived in Transylvania with his wife Bracha, and their eight beautiful children. They lived in a strong community, yet with terrifying speed, their way of life was erased from existence. The Nazis forced Saba Chaim, Bracha, and their children onto cattle cars hurtling towards Auschwitz.
Immediately upon arrival, my grandfather’s family was torn from his arms. Bracha and seven of their children – their innocent children – were sent directly to the gas chambers. Young children – babies – gassed to death for the crime of being born Jewish.
Saba Chaim and his eldest daughter Chana were left alive only to do backbreaking labor for the despicable Nazi regime.
Following the liberation of the camp, Saba Chaim married my Savta Rachel, who also survived Auschwitz after terrible suffering, and together they escaped Europe and came to Israel. Just imagine the resilience and belief needed to lose your entire family and then rebuild your lives from the ashes of the Holocaust.
This story of courage and immense faith is the story that I was raised on. It’s part of who I am. It’s part of who we – the Jewish people – are.
Faith and tradition have kept our people together for millennia, and it is through these Jewish principles that we have returned and reestablished our homeland.
Nor is the delegation of Assyrians.
Amalek’s flag is not waving outside the UN.
But do you know which flag is? The Star of David. The flag of the Jewish people living in our promised homeland with Jerusalem as our eternal capital.
Adhering to our Jewish tradition and values have been the key to our survival in exile. Not only does our tradition ensure Jewish continuity, it also forges our ageold bond to Israel. Our religion is the basis of our love and longing for Zion.
Your support for our ancestral homeland is fortifying the future of our people, and friends, standing up for the State of Israel is more important now than ever before.
Let me tell you why:
Our enemies, those that seek Israel’s destruction, know that they cannot defeat us on the conventional
battlefield. They don’t have a chance!
Today, thank G-d, unlike many other times throughout history, we can defend ourselves.
So rather than facing the full might of the IDF – one of the most formidable, technologically advanced militaries in the world – our enemies have chosen a different strategy.
They attack us where they think we are weak. Not only by attacking our military, but also by attacking our citizens at the home-front. They dig terror tunnels to kidnap our children and arm themselves with hundreds of thousands of rockets pointed at our towns and cities.
Yet, beyond physical attacks, they also employ another tactic. They actively work – in many different ways – to demonize and, as a result, isolate Israel in the international community.
Their goal is to delegitimize Israel, in order to destroy us.
And nowhere is this abhorrent tactic clearer than at the UN – the most biased institution in the world.
Listen to this:
Israel – a country that represents one tenth of one percent of the world’s population – receives seventy percent of the UN’s condemnations. Instead of focusing on real world challenges, the UN prefers to condemn the one and only Jewish State.
If this double standard doesn’t scream antisemitism, I don’t know what does.
Many of you may be asking yourselves, “Does it really matter? It’s not as if the UN has any actual influence.” Well, you aren’t the first people to raise this question.
In Hebrew, the UN is called the “UM” and David Ben Gurion, in a way to describe the ineffectiveness of the UN, referred to it as “UM Shmum” – similar to how you say Joe Schmoe.
But sadly, today, what happens at the UN doesn’t stay at the UN. This institution, with its antisemitic bias, has become weaponized against Israel – against the Jewish people.
Today, we live in an era where, due to the media and the internet, the weaponization of the UN has become so much more harmful. A lie can travel around the world before the truth can even get its shoes on. And these lies can cause immense destruction.
When the UN spreads blatant falsehoods against Israel, these fabrications are translated into acts of physical violence against Jews. Just remember the violent antisemitic attacks that we witnessed during Operation Guardian of the Walls in May 2021.
In the last few weeks alone, the UN – with its immoral anti-Israel majority – adopted eight resolutions singling out the Jewish State.
Yet, this isn’t news.
Each year, between fifteen and twenty UN resolutions are passed against Israel, the most vibrant democracy in the Middle East. This is more than the annual resolutions passed against Iran, Syria, and North Korea – combined!
Amb. Erdan with rabbanim and members of the kollel in Atlanta Nevertheless, this year’s anti-Israel resolutions crossed a dangerous red line. The Palestinian-led resolution calls upon the International Court of Justice to determine that Israel occupies Judea and Samaria and that any Jewish presence there is illegal. As a result, the international court will begin to discuss this issue next month and formulate its legal opinion.
We all remember that the Palestinians have rejected every single peace initiative ever offered to them. They have shown, time after time, that peace was never their goal. Their tactic is to perpetuate the conflict in order to bring about the Jewish State’s destruction. And these resolutions aim to do precisely that. The Palestinians wish to exploit a UN organ to enforce all of their outrageous demands on Israel. But I have a message for them: Jews are from Judea, and no external body will force us from our homeland! You will never prevail! It is the responsibility of all of us to denounce the Palestinian’s unilateral involvement of the International Court of Justice. We must work together in order to expose the illegitimacy of such a one-sided approach! When fighting the UN’s bias against the Jewish State, the best approach is to go on the offensive. We must call out our enemies, lay bare their hypocrisy, and make them pay a heavy price for their hate. This, friends, is precisely what I do every day at the UN! I go on the offensive in the battle for the truth. As we all know, even a little bit of light can dispel much darkness. With faith and perseverance, we can ensure a positive outcome. When Ben and Jerry’s decided to boycott Israel, we quickly showed them that a heavy price is paid for anti-Israel double standards. In a time when Holocaust denial is on the rise, I succeeded to pass a historic resolution in the General Assembly that gives countries practical tools to combat this twisted phenomenon.
When the UN refused to recognize rock throwings against Israelis as terror attacks, I smuggled a rock into the Security Council and presented it to the ambassadors to show them that rocks kill.
This is one of the ways I defend Israel on the international stage.
Going on the offensive should be our approach whenever we encounter antisemitism and bigotry.
Today, anti-Zionism is indeed the new form of antisemitism plaguing the Jewish people. But sadly, classic Jew-hatred is also rapidly on the rise.
Kanye West’s poisonous vitriol is just one of countless examples. The spreading of ancient antisemitic tropes is becoming terrifyingly commonplace. And just as we saw a few days ago, when the FBI thwarted an imminent attack on the Jewish community in New York, hateful words always become hateful actions. We are now being singled-out and threatened, merely for being Jews.
Well, just as fighting the anti-Israel bias at the UN requires going on the offensive, rising antisemitism must also be combatted by going on the offensive. The deep-seeded hatred of the Jewish people must be fought with swiftness and severity. It must be extinguished before the flames can spread. We should never hesitate before taking action.
Bilaam referred to us as “Am levadad yishkon” – “a nation that dwells alone.” A similar idea was echoed millennia later by Ben Gurion, when he said, “It doesn’t matter what other nations say about us, all that matters are the actions that the Jewish people take.”
In my view, this does not mean that we should isolate and separate ourselves from the rest of the world in every context.
We, of course, must maintain our Jewish values, which differentiate us from the other nations and ensures our continuity, yet when it comes to sharing our ethics, knowledge, and tools, we must always strive to make an impact. We must be a “light unto the nations,” and the way to do it is through Tikkun Olam – repairing a fractured world.
This is what the Jewish people have been doing since the birth of our religion, and this is what the Jewish State has been doing since the moment of its establishment. And showcasing Israel’s unbelievable contributions is the second way that I dispel the darkness at the UN.
Israel is a hub of innovation and creativity, and in these fields, we punch far above our weight.
Our technological advancements tackle some of the most pressing global challenges – from water scarcity and food insecurity, to digital health, cyber defense, and beyond. And we don’t just keep these advancements to ourselves – we share our knowledge with countries that need it!
And it goes beyond technology.
Whenever there is a disaster, whether it’s an earthquake in Nepal or Mexico City, the war in Ukraine, or a collapsed building in Surfside, IDF soldiers, medics, and doctors are the first ones on the ground making a difference.
These contributions are what I share with my colleagues at the UN through many creative initiatives and events. And once they see what Israel does for the world, it’s harder for them to vote against us.
Also, thanks to Israel’s bounding global contributions – in all spheres – we now have peace agreements with six different Arab countries. Our new regional partners understood how much they have to gain from coexistence with Israel.
Israel spends much time and resources strengthening our bonds with countries around the world, so that they join our fight for the truth. So too, the American Jewish community must strengthen the bonds with other minority groups across the United States. Here in the U.S., cross-sectional support for the Jewish people and the Jewish State is of crucial importance.
We are all suffering from prejudice and bigotry, and together as a united force, we could stop hatred in its tracks!
While I defend Israel on the world stage, I know that I am not fighting alone. I know that I have the support of each and every one of you – strong supporters from every single branch of the diverse Jewish family.
At a time when Jews have once again become targets of violence, and attacking the Jewish State has become
so prevalent, it is our duty to combat the hatred and lies. And if we have learned one thing throughout history, it is that the Jewish people are strongest only when we stand together.
When we are united, we can move mountains!
Yes, we are a diverse people, and yes, we have our differences, yet we cannot forget that a unified people is a resilient people. And now is when we need resilience the most. “Hinei ma tov u’ma naim, shevet achim gam yachad.”
Amb. Erdan with Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Chairman, Eretz Hakodesh, and Rabbi Ilan Feldman of Congregation Beth Jacob, Atlanta
May we continue standing up for Israel, reinforcing the Jewish people, and spreading our light throughout the world.
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Amb. Gilad Erdan is Israel’s Ambassador to the UN.
