Gilad Erdan
(Elad Gershgoren)
“On October 7th Israel suffered the most brutal massacre since the Holocaust,” said Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan at Calcalist’s Mind the Tech conference in New York on Monday. “While Hamas’ barbarity initially shocked the world and many expressed their support for us, it was a matter of days before the tide began to turn. Support turned to opposition. Consolation turned to condemnation. And while Israel is fighting against the forces of evil, some are working to tie our hands with a ceasefire that will keep Hamas in power. It’s unfathomable.
“Did anyone call for a ceasefire when the allies fought the Nazis?
“Did anyone call for a ceasefire when the world battled Al Qaeda or ISIS?
“Of course not. Today, Israel is the vanguard of civilization and we must continue to eradicate Hamas’ terror infrastructure until every Israeli can live in security. If we fail, it will inspire many more radical Jihadists and the West will be next.”
Erdan added that “nowhere are these dangerous calls heard louder than at the UN – my battlefield.
“150 days have passed since October 7th and not even one UN body has condemned Hamas – not one! This is what the UN has become – a weapon in the hands of Jihadists.
“When you ask yourselves, how it’s possible that the UN is so biased against a vibrant democracy like Israel, it’s crucial to understand the UN’s political makeup:
“Today, nearly one third of the UN’s 193 Member States are Muslim countries that due to political and other reasons side with the Palestinians. More than half of the countries at the UN are non-democratic and they seek to undermine the free world and align themselves with Russia and China. The outcome is that, as a result of its political and distorted structure, the UN has become a tool to demonize and delegitimize Israel.
“But I never despair! I always go on the offensive to expose the truth and call out our detractors.
“When the Secretary-General expressed understanding for the massacre by saying that it “didn’t happen in a vacuum” I immediately called for his resignation. Shame on him. Shame on the UN.
“When the General Assembly is only obsessed with calling for a ceasefire that will keep Hamas in power, I exposed Sinwar’s phone number and told them that if they want a real ceasefire, they should demand that Sinwar turn himself in.
“I always work to find creative ways to expose the lies and fight the bias.
“But friends, let me tell you a secret about the real situation of Israel in the international arena – even at the UN:
“What you see on the public global stage, is not what happens behind closed doors.
“While the UN, as a body, is biased against us, the private meetings that I have with many ambassadors – some from countries that Israel doesn’t have formal relations with – reflect a very different reality.
“All of the UN Member States profoundly comprehend the immense value that Israel has to offer. This December, despite the war, we succeeded to pass an Israeli resolution in the General Assembly promoting agricultural technologies. 135 countries voted in favor and it was adopted with an overwhelming majority! Our capabilities are irrefutable.
“The same goes for every event that I host showcasing Israel’s technological solutions. The room is always packed and every country wants to learn from our ingenuity.
“The world knows that Israel is not only the Startup Nation – we have become the Impact Nation.
“A tiny strip of land defied all odds and turned into a global powerhouse of innovation and creativity.
“It is exactly this success story that led up to the signing of the Abraham Accords with the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco.
“And these are the characteristics that brought Saudi Arabia to the negotiating table. And I’m still hopeful that soon after the war, we will establish diplomatic relations with the Saudis.
“Friends, Israel is globally renowned as a tech capital, and at the UN I’m often asked about the “secret-sauce” driving our achievements.
“They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and in its early days Israel was a hub of challenges. We faced an arid climate, wars, terror, economic hardship, and more.
“Yet every time we faced a challenge, we overcame it with flying colors. That is the Israeli spirit:
“We have very few natural water sources, so we developed drip irrigation, and water reclamation and desalination plants.
“We face the threat of missiles and rockets, so we developed the Iron Dome.
“And the list goes on.
“Friends, there are many reasons behind our success, but I believe that there is one thing that stands above all else: our unbreakable resilience.
Israel’s national resilience is the catalyst of our will to survive and thrive. And we witnessed this once again, following October 7th.
“We are a people who not only overcome challenges, but also learn from them and increase our resilience. This is why over the past 25 years, every single time Israel faced difficulties, the aftermath brought explosive growth in Israel’s tech sector.
“Following October 7th, 360,000 reservists mobilized to defend Israel. This is roughly 10% of our workforce. There are even Israeli startups where one third of their employees were on the frontlines.
“Yet the Israeli tech sector did not falter for even one second.
“This is because Israeli tech – delivers – no matter what.
“We are a solution-oriented country and the resourcefulness of Israeli entrepreneurs is unmatched.
“This is why Israel’s tech ecosystem, with its resilience, will continue to thrive.
“Friends, although we now face hardship, the future is so much brighter than any of us can imagine, and our best days are still ahead of us.
“You now have the opportunity to join us in continuing to change the world for the better.
“This is what Israel does. We innovate. We impact. We want to make the world a better place. And friends, we will win this war.
“God willing, we will bring the hostages home. And we will prove that Israel is an eternal and unbreakable success story.”
Watch Gilad Erdan’s full address in the video above.
