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Israel’s President Slams ‘Outrageous Hypocrisy’ of UN While Making Remarks for Holocaust Remembrance Day
Israeli President Isaac Herzog looks on during a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, not pictured, in Washington, DC, on Oct. 25, 2022. Stefani Reynolds/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Monday defended his country’s military operations against Hamas in Gaza and argued that the “moral compass” of international organizations have become disoriented and compromised by antisemitism, calling out what he described as hypocrisy” while addressing the United Nations General Assembly’s annual special session marking International Holocaust Memorial Day.
Herzog slammed the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its “outrageous hypocrisy and protection of the perpetrators of the atrocities … creating a distorted symmetry between the victim and the murderous monster.”
The ICC in November issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas terror leader Ibrahim al-Masri (better known as Mohammed Deif) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict. The court said there were reasonable grounds to believe Netanyahu and Gallant were criminally responsible for starvation in Gaza and the persecution of Palestinians — charges vehemently denied by Israel, which has provided significant humanitarian aid into the war-torn enclave throughout the war. US and Israeli officials issued blistering condemnations of the ICC move, decrying the court for drawing a moral equivalence between Israel’s democratically elected leaders and the heads of Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group that launched the war in Gaza with its invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 — the largest single-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.
During his remarks, Herzog also lambasted the UN and ICC for “allowing antisemitic genocidal doctrines to flourish uninterrupted in the wake of the largest massacre of Jews since World War II.”
Over the past 15 months, Israel has been embroiled in a war against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, which murdered 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages during its Oct. 7 rampage. Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities.
Almost immediately after Israel started defensive military operations against Hamas, international organizations such as the UN and ICC issued repeated condemnations of the war and even suggested that a “genocide” could be occurring in Gaza.
Herzog lamented that his great uncle, Holocaust survivor Hersch Lauterpacht, assisted in the founding of the ICC and served as a judge within the organization.
“He did so out of deep faith — and hope, that the international institutions would forever be committed to preventing these heinous crimes from ever happening again — to the Jewish people or any other people,” Herzog said.
Herzog warned that the UN currently sits at a “crossroads” in its history, bemoaning that “rather than fulfilling its purpose, and fighting courageously against a global epidemic of jihadist, murderous, and abhorrent terror, time and again this assembly has exhibited moral bankruptcy.”
Defending the Jewish state’s conduct in Gaza, Herzog asserted that such international institutions are “weaponizing” the definition of genocide to tarnish Israel’s reputation, accusing them of neglecting their duty to stand against antisemitism and engaging in “Holocaust inversion.”
Since December 2023, the top UN court, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has been considering a case brought by South Africa accusing Israel of committing “state-led genocide” in its defensive war against Hamas in Gaza. In May, the court ordered Israel to end its military operations in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. While Israeli officials did not adhere to the unenforceable ruling, they decried the decision as a sign of deep anti-Israel bias.
Israeli officials have long accused international organizations of having a bias against the Jewish state. For instance, the UN General Assembly in 2023 condemned Israel twice as often as it did all other countries. Meanwhile, of all the country-specific resolutions passed by the UN Human Rights Council, nearly half have condemned Israel, a seemingly disproportionate focus on the lone democracy in the Middle East.
Herzog also called out Iran, a fellow member of the UN, for “explicitly scheming and acting” to destroy Israel. He argued that Iran’s “fanatical leadership” has turned the country into a vehicle for antisemitism.
“The world cannot continue turning a blind eye to the global threat posed by Iran, both directly and through its proxies,” Herzog said.
Iran is the chief international sponsor of Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Houthis in Yemen, providing the terrorist groups with weapons, funding, and training. US intelligence agencies have also warned that Iranian agents have encouraged and provided financial support to anti-Israel protests raging across America.
Prior to his speech at the UN, Herzog met with key US officials and participated in the opening of a new synagogue.
On Sunday, Herzog attended the inaugural ceremony of The Altneu synagogue in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The opening of The Altneu drew hundreds of attendees and local community members, including the Trump administration’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
During his speech, Herzog encouraged the attendees to stay resilient amid the ongoing turmoil in Israel.
“We are a very strong and united nation committed to doing good in the world, and the fact of the matter is that despite all odds, in the most difficult times since World War II, we are building another Jewish community, and another Jewish community, and another Jewish community right here,” Hezog said in his remarks.
Witkoff warned congregants that the recently brokered ceasefire deal between the Hamas terrorist group and Israel might not stick, saying that thy “hopefully get to phase two.”
“The execution of the agreement was important; it was the first step,” Witkoff said. “But without the implementation [done correctly], we’re not going to get it right. We’re going to have a flare-up, and that’s not a good thing.”
Israel and Hamas agreed earlier this month to a three-phase ceasefire and hostage-release deal which halts fighting in Gaza and, if fully implemented, could end the conflict. Following the first 16 days of the ceasefire, negotiators are expected to commence discussions on phase two of the agreement, which could result in the release of the remaining Israeli hostages and complete removal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip.
While in New York City, Herzog also met with US Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA). The Israeli official heaped praise on Fetterman over his unwavering support for the Jewish state.
“You are a hero of the deep and bipartisan friendship between our two peoples. Your outspoken advocacy and unwavering solidarity for the hostages and their tremendous families will be remembered in history. Thank you for your moral clarity and courage,” Herzog said to Fetterman.
In the year following the Oct. 7 massacre, Fetterman has emerged as a surprisingly stalwart ally of the Jewish state. He has regularly criticized other Democrats, including then-US President Joe Biden, over their perceived fragile and unreliable support of Israel. Notably, Fetterman and Herzog initially became acquainted last June during the senator’s first trip to Israel.
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Iran Says ‘Extremely Cautious’ on Success of Nuclear Talks with US
US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy-designate Steve Witkoff gives a speech at the inaugural parade inside Capital One Arena on the inauguration day of Trump’s second presidential term, in Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Iran and the United States have agreed to continue nuclear talks next week, both sides said on Saturday, though Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi voiced “extreme cautious” about the success of the negotiations to resolve a decades-long standoff.
US President Donald Trump has signaled confidence in clinching a new pact with the Islamic Republic that would block Tehran’s path to a nuclear bomb.
Araqchi and Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff held a third round of the talks in Muscat through Omani mediators for around six hours, a week after a second round in Rome that both sides described as constructive.
“The negotiations are extremely serious and technical… there are still differences, both on major issues and on details,” Araqchi told Iranian state TV.
“There is seriousness and determination on both sides… However, our optimism about success of the talks remains extremely cautious.”
A senior US administration official described the talks as positive and productive, adding that both sides agreed to meet again in Europe “soon.”
“There is still much to do, but further progress was made on getting to a deal,” the official added.
Earlier Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi had said talks would continue next week, with another “high-level meeting” provisionally scheduled for May 3. Araqchi said Oman would announce the venue.
Ahead of the lead negotiators’ meeting, expert-level indirect talks took place in Muscat to design a framework for a potential nuclear deal.
“The presence of experts was beneficial … we will return to our capitals for further reviews to see how disagreements can be reduced,” Araqchi said.
An Iranian official, briefed about the talks, told Reuters earlier that the expert-level negotiations were “difficult, complicated and serious.”
The only aim of these talks, Araqchi said, was “to build confidence about the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.”
Trump, in an interview with Time magazine published on Friday, said “I think we’re going to make a deal with Iran,” but he repeated a threat of military action against Iran if diplomacy fails.
Shortly after Araqchi and Witkoff began their latest indirect talks on Saturday, Iranian state media reported a massive explosion at the country’s Shahid Rajaee port near the southern city of Bandar Abbas, killing at least four people and injuring hundreds.
MAXIMUM PRESSURE
While both Tehran and Washington have said they are set on pursuing diplomacy, they remain far apart on a dispute that has rumbled on for more than two decades.
Trump, who has restored a “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran since February, ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six world powers in 2018 during his first term and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran.
Since 2019, Iran has breached the pact’s nuclear curbs including “dramatically” accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade, according to the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this week Iran would have to entirely stop enriching uranium under a deal, and import any enriched uranium it needed to fuel its sole functioning atomic energy plant, Bushehr.
Tehran is willing to negotiate some curbs on its nuclear work in return for the lifting of sanctions, according to Iranian officials, but ending its enrichment program or surrendering its enriched uranium stockpile are among “Iran’s red lines that could not be compromised” in the talks.
Moreover, European states have suggested to US negotiators that a comprehensive deal should include limits preventing Iran from acquiring or finalizing the capacity to put a nuclear warhead on a ballistic missile, several European diplomats said.
Tehran insists its defense capabilities like its missile program are not negotiable.
An Iranian official with knowledge of the talks said on Friday that Tehran sees its missile program as a bigger obstacle in the talks.
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Palestinian Leader Abbas Names Likely Successor in Bid to Reassure World Powers
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas attends the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, April 28, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas named close confidant Hussein al-Sheikh as his deputy and likely successor on Saturday, the Palestine Liberation Organization said, a step widely seen as needed to assuage international doubts over Palestinian leadership.
Abbas, 89, has headed the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) since the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat in 2004 but he had for years resisted internal reforms including the naming of a successor.
Sheikh, born in 1960, is a veteran of Fatah, the main PLO faction which was founded by Arafat and is now headed by Abbas. He is widely viewed as a pragmatist with very close ties to Israel.
He was named PLO vice president after the organization’s executive committee approved his nomination by Abbas, the PLO said in a statement.
Reform of the PA, which exercises limited autonomy in the West Bank, has been a priority for the United States and Gulf monarchies hoping the body can play a central role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Pressure to reform has intensified since the start of the war in Gaza, where the PLO’s main Palestinian rival Hamas has battled Israel for more than 18 months, leaving the tiny, crowded territory in ruins.
The United States has promoted the idea of a reformed PA governing in Gaza after the war. Gulf monarchies, which are seen as the most likely source of funding for reconstruction in Gaza after the war, also want major reforms of the body.
CALL FOR HAMAS TO DISARM
Israel’s declared goal in Gaza is the destruction of Hamas but it has also ruled out giving the PA any role in government there. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he opposes the creation of a Palestinian state.
Hamas, which follows a militant Islamist ideology, has controlled Gaza since 2007 when it defeated the PA in a brief civil war after winning an election the previous year. It also has a large presence in the West Bank.
At a meeting of the PLO’s Central Council on Wednesday and Thursday that approved the position of vice president without naming an appointee, Abbas made his clearest ever call for Hamas to completely disarm and hand its weapons – and responsibility for governing in Gaza – to the PA.
Widespread corruption, lack of progress towards an independent state and increasing Israeli military incursions in the West Bank have undermined the PA’s popularity among many Palestinians.
The body has been controlled by Fatah since it was formed in the Oslo Accords with Israel in 1993 and it last held parliamentary elections in 2005.
Sheikh, who was imprisoned by Israel for his activities opposing the occupation during the period 1978-89, has worked as the PA’s main contact liaising with the Israeli government under Abbas and been his envoy on visits to world powers.
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3rd Round of Nuclear Talks Between Iran, US Concludes in Oman
Atomic symbol and USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, September 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
i24 News – The third round of talks between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program has concluded on Saturday, US media reported.
The two sides are understood to have discussed the US lifting of sanctions on Iran, with focuses on technical and key topics including uranium enrichment.
On April 12, the US and Iran held indirect talks in Muscat, marking the first official negotiation between the two sides since the US unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term.
The second round of indirect talks took place in Rome, Italy, on April 19.
All parties, including Oman, stated that the first two rounds of talks were friendly and constructive, but Iranian media pointed out that the first two rounds were mainly framework negotiations and had not yet touched upon the core issues of disagreement.
According to media reports, one of the key issues in the expert-level negotiations will be whether Washington will allow Iran to continue uranium enrichment within the framework of its nuclear program. In response, Araghchi made it clear that Iran’s right to uranium enrichment is non-negotiable.
The US, Israel and other Western actors including the United Nation’s nuclear agency reject Iranian claims that its uranium enrichment is strictly civilian in its goals.
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