United Nations condemns antisemitism and Islamophobia

In the wake of the New Zealand mosque attacks, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution which condemned both Islamophobia and antisemitism. Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon led a diplomatic effort to change the wording of the resolution, which initially included a condemnation of Islamophobia but had no mention of antisemitism.

The ambassador convinced several states to avoid supporting the resolution if it did not mention antisemitism. After the debate, he said: “Our diplomatic efforts have shown that we will not allow the international community to remain silent while a wave of antisemitism spreads throughout the world.”

Noa Forman, who represented Israel in the discussion, said: “We strongly condemn this horrifying act of terrorism. It is critical that the General Assembly sends a strong message against a religious base, hatred and hate crimes, but we must do it in such a way that unites us all.”

Jonathan Cohen, acting Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations, referred to the deadliest attack against the Jewish community in the United States. He said: “Many of us in this room represent nations whose people have been victims of terrorist attacks. Americans know all too well the pain of such attacks, most recently with the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. Yazidis and Christians victimised by Isis also know this pain. Opposing this terrorism unites countries around the world. While we’ve made progress in our fight against terrorism, we must remain vigilant. Together, we must continue to fight terrorism and all its forms wherever it exists.”