The gesture provoked strong reactions. Israel's ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan on Sunday defended his controversial choice to wear a yellow star at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Monday, saying he wanted to push the body to condemn Hamas. "I want to emphasize that my goal was first and foremost to shock the Security Council," he told CNN.
At the meeting, the ambassador showed up with a yellow star – which was imposed on Jews by the Nazis – on his chest, which drew strong condemnation, including from Israel's Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.
The yellow star I wore in the @UN Security Council, inscribed with the words "Never Again," is a symbol of determination and strength.
It is intended to shock the Security Council and remind it of the shame of its silence in the face of the Hamas Nazis and make clear that we... pic.twitter.com/zwpeCbtWl5
— Ambassador Gilad Erdan גלעד ארדן (@giladerdan1) November 2, 2023
Its director, Dani Dayan, slammed an act that "dishonors the victims of the Holocaust as well as the State of Israel," in a message posted on X (formerly Twitter), urging the ambassador to wear the colors of Israel's flag instead. Asked about this on Sunday, Gilad Erdan defended himself, once again castigating the "silence" of the UN Security Council on the bloody October 7 attack carried out by Hamas in Israel.
"I wanted to remind them of their silence"
"I wanted to remind them of their silence and send them the message that, unlike in the past, we are not as weak as we were at the time of the Holocaust," he said, adding: "That's why it said never again."
The deeply divided Council adopted no resolution on the war between Israel and Hamas. "We will wear this star until you wake up and condemn Hamas' atrocities," the ambassador said Monday.
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Faced with the impasse in the Security Council, the UN General Assembly took over and adopted a non-binding resolution on Friday by a large majority calling for an "immediate humanitarian truce", but without mentioning Hamas.