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Gilad Erdan Bids Farewell to United Nations, Ending Four-Year Tenure as Israeli Ambassador
Gilad Erdan addresses delegates at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City, US May 10, 2024. Photo: Eduardo Munoz via Reuters Connect
Gilad Erdan bid farewell to the United Nations on Monday during an intimate ceremony held in New York City, capping off a four-year tenure as Israel’s permanent representative to the international body and beginning what many of his friends and supporters hope is a new chapter of his decorated career.
“I had the immense, immense privilege of representing Israel at the United Nations. I woke up every morning with a clear mission to prove that Israel is a moral state, a country that cherishes life and peace, a country that wants to protect its citizens like any other country, and a state with the best and most ethical army in the world — the IDF [Israel Defense Forces],” Erdan said in a speech which followed tributes by New York City Mayor Eric Adams, US Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), and Jewish leaders.
He continued, “I did everything I could to raise awareness about the horrors of Oct. 7, about our hostages … and the sexual violence we saw against Israeli women. I did this in every way possible, and with all means at my disposable, yes. It was a way to raise awareness, to shock, to cry out for those who cannot.”
Born in Ashkelon, Israel in 1970, Erdan has spent the past three decades serving the Israeli people as a public servant in both foreign and domestic affairs. A member of the Likud Party, he has been a member of parliament and held several key ministerial roles, traveling across the world and working with some of the most consequential — and controversial — leaders of recent decades time, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden, and former US President Donald Trump.
As UN ambassador, Erdan became a leading defender of Israel’s foreign policy, defending the country’s efforts to combat terrorism and facing down numerous attempts to undermine its standing in the community of nations. Often, the body in which he served, the United Nations, became the object of his frustration and opprobrium.
In 2022, Erdan slammed the UN General Assembly for scheduling a controversial vote on a resolution which asked the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on the Palestinian territories, saying, “No international body can decide that the Jewish people are ‘occupiers’ in their own homeland” and charging that the decision to schedule the vote during Shabbat was “another example of the moral decay of the UN.”
After the Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel perpetrated by Hamas — a tragedy in which more Jews were killed in a single day than any time since the Holocaust — Erdan insisted on the return of the 250 hostages kidnapped by the terrorist group and transported to Gaza as a precondition for any dialogue aimed at ending Israel’s war to eradicate Hamas. He also criticized the UN for initiating a series of resolutions which ignored the sexual violence Hamas committed against Israeli women.
“Will you continue your silence and indifference?” he said in March following a UN report which included copious evidence supporting accounts of Hamas’ sexual assaults. “What if these were your daughters, your granddaughters. Would you continue to ignore them or would you demand immediate action?”
The Israeli government in June agreed to appoint Likud lawmaker Danny Danon as Israel’s next ambassador to the UN, succeeding Erdan.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.
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French Police Arrest Man Suspected of Attempted Arson Against Synagogue
French police stand guard after cars were set on fire in front of the city’s synagogue, in La Grande-Motte, France, August 24, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Manon Cruz
French police have arrested a man suspected of trying to set a synagogue ablaze in the southern French city of la Grande-Motte on Saturday, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
About 200 police officers had been hunting for the suspect, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said earlier, adding that the attacker had set fire to several entry doors to the synagogue and several cars nearby.
BFM TV said the suspect was a 33-year-old Algerian. Local police declined to give details.
The anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office, which was put in charge of the investigation, said early on Sunday that a suspect had been arrested in Nîmes on Saturday evening.
“Before the police could intervene, (the suspect) opened fire on the (police), which returned fire. The man was wounded in the face,” the office said in a statement, adding that two other people were taken into custody.
A policeman was slightly injured when a gas bottle exploded as police secured the site of the attack on Saturday morning, Attal said.
“This is an antisemitic attack. Once more, our Jewish compatriots are targeted,” Attal said on X. “In the face of antisemitism, in the face of violence, we will never allow ourselves to be intimidated.”
After visiting the synagogue, Attal said an “absolute tragedy” had been narrowly averted after firefighters and police arrived quickly at the scene.
Local media reported earlier that the suspect had set fire to two cars, one of which contained at least one gas bottle, in the synagogue’s parking area at about 8:30 a.m. (0630 GMT).
Police protection of synagogues, and Jewish schools and shops would be stepped up across France, the government said.
France, like other countries in Europe, has seen a surge in antisemitic incidents following the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7 and Israel’s retaliatory action in Gaza.
Le Parisien, franceinfo and other media said the suspect had been seen on CCTV shortly before the attack with a Palestinian flag tied round his waist.
“Exploding a gas bottle in a car in front of the Grande Motte synagogue at the expected time of arrival of the faithful: it’s not just attacking a place of worship, it’s an attempt to kill Jews,” Yonathan Arfi, who leads the CRIF, an umbrella organization of French Jewish groups, said on X.
La Grande-Motte is a port and resort city on the French Mediterranean coast.
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‘First Phase’ of Attack Against Israel is ‘Over,’ Hezbollah Declares, Amid Fears of Regional War
Lebanon’s Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah addresses his supporters through a screen during a rally commemorating the annual Hezbollah Martyrs’ Day, in Beirut’s southern suburbs. Photo: Reuters/Aziz Taher
i24 News – A Hezbollah official said on Sunday that the jihadist group does not wish that its rocket and drone attack against Israel early in the morning should trigger a regional war and, as far as it is concerned, the “first phase” of the attack is over.
The official said the group took time to retaliate for the assassination of top commander Fuad Shukr last month due to “political considerations,” chiefly the ongoing talks on a ceasefire and hostage release deal for the Gaza Strip.
The terrorist did not elaborate as to why the group decided to launch its attack despite the still-ongoing negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
The official stressed the Shiite militia had “worked” to make sure its response to the July 30 assassination would not trigger a full-scale war.
Hezbollah launched over 320 rockets & drones at Israel, responding to the killing of terrorist Fuad Shukr
But before the strike, the IDF preemptively hit thousands of rocket launchers in Lebanon
Here is everything you need to know, including the latest safety instructions: pic.twitter.com/FyHik3aeIz
— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) August 25, 2024
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Syrian President Says Efforts to Restore Ties with Turkey Have Yielded No Results
Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad speaks to the Syrian parliament in Damascus, Syria August 25, 2024. Photo: SANA/Handout via REUTERS
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Sunday that efforts to mend ties with Turkey had so far brought no tangible results.
“The initiatives did not yield any results worth mentioning despite the seriousness and genuine keenness of mediators,” Assad said in a speech to the Syrian parliament, referring to conciliation efforts by Russia, Iran and Iraq.
Turkey severed ties with Syria in 2011 after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, in which it supported rebels seeking to oust Assad. Assad views the rebels as terrorists.
“The solution is openness,” Assad said. “Restoring a relationship requires first removing the causes that led to its destruction.”
The Syrian president made clear that while he wants Turkish troops to withdraw from Syria, that was not a precondition for talks.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said earlier in July he would extend an invitation to Assad “any time” for possible talks to restore relations.
A Turkish newspaper earlier reported Erdogan and Assad could meet in August, but a Turkish diplomat denied the report.
Russia has been trying to facilitate a meeting between the two leaders in an effort to restore ties. Iraq also said in July that it may seek to try to bring the two leaders together.
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