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Israel’s UN Ambassador Accuses Security Council of ‘Whitewashing’ Terrorist Crimes After Gaza War Vote
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan addresses the UN Security Council at UN headquarters in New York City, US, March 22, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Mike Segar
Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations accused the UN Security Council (UNSC) of “whitewashing” the crimes of terrorists in a speech to the body on Friday.
After the US introduced a resolution to the UNSC calling for a temporary ceasefire to the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan addressed the international body.
The resolution, which called for a six-week break in fighting, was vetoed by China and Russia because the ceasefire would only be temporary. The measure included a call for the release of the hostages still being held by Hamas, and it did not condemn plans for Israel to operate in Rafah — the Palestinian terrorist group’s last stronghold in Gaza.
In response, Erdan said, “The American resolution – should it have passed – would have marked a moment of morality for the UN, a place where good is evil, and justice is injustice. It would have been the very first time that this council — or any UN body — condemned Hamas and their brutal massacre.”
“Yet sadly,” he continued, “for purely political reasons, this resolution did not pass, and terrorists can continue benefiting from this council whitewashing their crimes.”
Erdan took aim at the international community for repeating Hamas-supplied casualty numbers uncritically. “Numbers supplied by the terrorists are thrown around and quoted as if they are word of God. Yet in essence, these numbers are merely the lies of Hamas that the UN is so quick to parrot,” he said.
Analysis of Hamas’ numbers suggests they systematically overcount civilian casualties.
In response to the veto, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said, “For all the fiery rhetoric, we all know that Russia and China are not doing anything diplomatically to advance a lasting peace or to meaningfully contribute to the humanitarian response effort.”
This is the latest in a long line of Security Council resolutions about the Israel-Hamas war where the US does not see eye to eye with China and Russia.
Within 10 days of the war starting, the US vetoed a China-backed resolution that called for humanitarian pauses to the fighting because it did not mention Israel’s right to self-defense. Then, about a month later, the US abstained from a resolution that called for a ceasefire to allow for Israeli hostages to be released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. And, in early December, the US vetoed another China-backed resolution that called for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza because a ceasefire would allow Hamas to stay in power and, thus, do nothing to prevent future war.
Erdan argued too much of the international community does not understand the truth about the war. “For Israel, every civilian death is a tragedy!” he said. “For Hamas, civilian deaths are a strategy. And sadly, you are playing into Hamas’ strategy exactly as they predicted. Condemn the tunnels under schools! Condemn the exploitation of hospitals for terror! Hold Hamas accountable!”
Since Hamas launched the war with its Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel, Israeli officials have lambasted UN leadership for what they described as emboldening Hamas and maintaining a bias against the Jewish state.
The post Israel’s UN Ambassador Accuses Security Council of ‘Whitewashing’ Terrorist Crimes After Gaza War Vote first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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North London Synagogue, Nursery Targeted in Eighth Local Antisemitic Incident in Just Over a Week
Demonstrators against antisemitism in London on Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: Campaign Against Antisemitism
A synagogue and its nursery school in the Golders Green area of north London were targeted in an antisemitic attack on Thursday morning — the eighth such incident locally in just over a week amid a shocking surge of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the area.
The synagogue and Jewish nursery were smeared with excrement in an antisemitic outrage echoing a series of recent incidents targeting the local Jewish community.
“The desecration of another local synagogue and a children’s nursery with excrement is a vile, deliberate, and premeditated act of antisemitism,” Shomrim North West London, a Jewish organization that monitors antisemitism and also serves as a neighborhood watch group, said in a statement.
“This marks the eighth antisemitic incident locally in just over a week, to directly target the local Jewish community,” the statement read. “These repeated attacks have left our community anxious, hurt, and increasingly worried.”
Local law enforcement confirmed they are reviewing CCTV footage and collecting evidence to identify the suspect and bring them to justice.
This latest anti-Jewish hate crime came just days after tens of thousands of people marched through London in a demonstration against antisemitism, amid rising levels of antisemitic incidents across the United Kingdom since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In just over a week, seven Jewish premises in Barnet, the borough in which Golders Green is located, have been targeted in separate antisemitic incidents.
According to the Metropolitan Police, an investigation has been launched into the targeted attacks, all of which involved the use of bodily fluids.
During the incidents, a substance was smeared on four synagogues and a private residence, while a liquid was thrown at a school and over a car in two other attacks.
As the investigation continues, local police said they believe the same suspect is likely responsible for all seven offenses, which are being treated as religiously motivated criminal damage.
No arrests have been made so far, but law enforcement said it is actively engaging with the local Jewish community to provide reassurance and support.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, condemned the recent wave of attacks and called on authorities to take immediate action.
“The extreme defilement of several Jewish locations in and around Golders Green is utterly abhorrent and deeply distressing,” CST said in a statement.
“CST is working closely with police and communal partners to support victims and help identify and apprehend the perpetrator,” it continued.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) also denounced the attacks, calling for urgent measures to protect the Jewish community.
“These repeated incidents are leaving British Jews anxious and vulnerable in their own neighborhoods, not to mention disgusted,” CAA said in a statement.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the United Kingdom has experienced a surge in antisemitic crimes and anti-Israel sentiment.
Last month, CST published a report showing there were 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded.
In total last year, CST recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, the country’s second worst year for antisemitism despite being an 18 percent drop from 2023’s record of 4,296.
In previous years, the numbers were significantly lower, with 1,662 incidents in 2022 and 2,261 hate crimes in 2021.
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Germany to Hold Off on Recognizing Palestinian State but Will Back UN Resolution for Two-State Solution
German national flag flutters on top of the Reichstag building, that seats the Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, March 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Germany will support a United Nations resolution for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but does not believe the time has come to recognize a Palestinian state, a government spokesman told Reuters on Thursday.
“Germany will support such a resolution which simply describes the status quo in international law,” the spokesman said, adding that Berlin “has always advocated a two-state solution and is asking for that all the time.”
“The chancellor just mentioned two days ago again that Germany does not see that the time has come for the recognition of the Palestinian state,” the spokesman added.
Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Belgium have all said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, although London said it could hold back if Israel were to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace process.
The United States strongly opposes any move by its European allies to recognize Palestinian independence.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US has told other countries that recognition of a Palestinian state will cause more problems.
Those who see recognition as a largely symbolic gesture point to the negligible presence on the ground and limited influence in the conflict of countries such as China, India, Russia, and many Arab states that have recognized Palestinian independence for decades.
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UN Security Council, With US Support, Condemns Strikes on Qatar
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned recent strikes on Qatar’s capital Doha, but did not mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including Israel‘s ally the United States.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with the attack on Tuesday, escalating its military action in what the United States described as a unilateral attack that does not advance US and Israeli interests.
The United States traditionally shields its ally Israel at the United Nations. US backing for the Security Council statement, which could only be approved by consensus, reflects President Donald Trump’s unhappiness with the attack ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Council members underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar. They underlined their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,” read the statement, drafted by Britain and France.
The Doha operation was especially sensitive because Qatar has been hosting and mediating negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
“Council members underscored that releasing the hostages, including those killed by Hamas, and ending the war and suffering in Gaza must remain our top priority,” the Security Council statement read.
The Security Council will meet later on Thursday to discuss the Israeli attack at a meeting due to be attended by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.