Being an ambassador does not mean being a diplomat. Gilad Erdan, head of Israel's mission to the UN, has managed to annoy practically everyone with his outbursts and braggadocio in his speeches.
No one, not even the United States, supported his call for the resignation of Secretary-General António Guterres, and even his own have lashed out at him for displaying a Star of David on his lapel during one of the their speeches
The head of the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem aired his complaint about the use of this yellow symbol, with the legend "never again", during the Security Council session on Monday. He lashed out at his compatriot because this "label", used by the Nazis to identify Jews, is a dishonor both for the country and for the victims of that tragedy.
Dani Dayan, president of Yad Vashem, stated in a post on X (formerly Twitter) that "the yellow sticker symbolizes the helplessness of Jewish citizens when they were at the mercy of others". And he clarified that today the Israelis "have an independent country and a strong army, we are the masters of our destiny".
Therefore, what is needed, Dayan stressed, "is to put the blue and white flag on the lapel, not the yellow star". He also reiterated that "blue and white represent strength".
Under the regime of Adolf Hitler, Jews were ordered to wear a yellow star as an identification element. In this way, their isolation was pointed out and they were marked to be harassed, while at the same time the division between the Jews and the rest of society was amplified.
In this session of the Security Council, Erdan wore this symbol, compared the Iranian president to Adolf Hitler, stated that Hamas seeks "the final solution", a term very typical of the Nazis, and accused the UN and its body executive to fail in sentencing the perpetrators of the attack on Israel on October 7.
In this sense, and justifying the disproportionate retaliation despite the indiscriminate death of Palestinian civilians, Erdan remarked that the absence of a formal condemnation is reminiscent of the international failure to stand against the Holocaust in World War II.
In this speech he recalled that his grandfather died in the Auschwitz concentration camp and that he and his team intended to wear the yellow star from that moment on. "Every time you look at me, you will remember what it means to be silent in the face of evil", he emphasized with a tone of fury. Having said this, he put on the star and his advisers imitated him.
Criticism of his initiative also arose in the positions of foreign ministries of several countries, including allies.
