During my visit to the United Nations, I understood why children are bad diplomats. They clearly grasp the basic good and evil, before the complex reality of life puts on us relativism and interests that distance us from simple, childlike logic.
I was invited to attend an event at the UN on behalf of the World Zionist Organization and an affiliated organization as part of a delegation of leading Israeli women, in order to raise awareness of the acts of gender-based violence perpetrated by Hamas terrorists against Israeli women in the October 7 massacre, and to demand that the UN condemn the crimes.
Hillary Clinton against UN silence on sexual violence by Hamas terrorists // Photo: Shahar Azran
The event was attended by diplomats, representatives of UN agencies, Jewish organizations and various American and Israeli civil society organizations.
My fear was that in the end it would be an event in which we applauded ourselves, convincing those who were convinced.
Sheryl Sandberg spoke in a broken voice and couldn't stop herself from crying, as did Sheila Katz, a spokeswoman for the Jewish rights organization. When a ZAKA representative came up and described the horrors he encountered when he arrived at Kibbutz Be'eri, not a single dry eye remained, including several Scandinavian diplomats who sat in front of me at the event.
The Israeli delegation to the UN pointed to three women sitting across from us, one of whom was the representative of I women, the other two representing the highest diplomatic rank of the UN.
Linor Abergel, along with dozens of other women, protesting the silence regarding the crimes committed against Israelis on October 7 // Photo: Yoni Rikner
During the depiction of atrocities, when Lenore Abergel took the UN stage and accused the International Organization of Women of undermining women's security in general, the silence reflected the heartfelt feeling of those present and present, the facial expressions of the UN delegates sitting opposite me remained static, unchanged.
As the horror stories filled the room, I stared at the diplomatic women sitting across from me and waited to see when they would break, when the pervasive descriptions wouldn't allow them to keep a diplomatic face.
But that didn't happen, human compassion. I couldn't find the connection to the basic logic of good and evil – and I really tried. At some point, I got up from my chair to take a picture of them, enlarge it, and see if I'd missed any change in the corner of their mouths. Nothing.
Demonstration against UN headquarters to protest the silence of its women's organization, photo: Omer Kaplan and Dana Golan, courtesy of Bonyot Alternative
"Maybe one day you will represent us at the United Nations," I have been told more than once by teachers at the school and by relatives. I was a rebellious child and a warrior for justice, not always for my own justice even.
Because I myself was an immigrant child who could not speak out against those who tried to harm me, the ability to speak out for others is not only for others, but also healing and personal correction.
The UN has always seemed to me to be an objective body that embodies the ultimate good. Childish thought divides the world into good and evil, permitted and forbidden. We must not completely lose touch with this basic division, not even in the name of diplomatic professionalism.
The icy face of UN women made me realize that hatred of the other just because she is Jewish, and that political-diplomatic interests can sometimes cut us off from the most basic and primary compassion. This must not happen, not only for the victims of October 7, but also for the ability of women to live in a world where rape is rape is rape.
We have all experienced different kinds of fracture since October 7, the realization that the largest international organization in the world has not always been able to distinguish between right and wrong, will have ripples and many influences and implications for the future of international relations between countries, between people, between women.
For sure, there's no longer a chance I'll tell my girls, "Maybe one day you'll represent us at the United Nations." This organization does not deserve real women fighters for justice.
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