Middle East conflict
Israel’s UN ambassador with a yellow star: comparison with D-Day
October 31, 2023 – 11:42 a.m. Reading time: 3 min.
“Never again”: The Israeli UN ambassador protested with a star on his jacket. (Source: Reuters)
During a memorable speech at the UN Security Council, Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan pinned a yellow star to his jacket. His employees also wore yellow Stars of David with the inscription “Never Again” in front of the most powerful UN body.
These were reminiscent of the yellow stars that were forced on Jewish fellow citizens during the Nazi dictatorship as a sign of disenfranchisement and exclusion. Six million Jews were murdered in the Holocaust.
He will wear the star, like his grandparents and the grandparents of millions of Jews, Erdan said to the Security Council. “We will wear the star until you condemn Hamas’ atrocities and demand the immediate release of our hostages.”
Terrorists from the Islamist Hamas, which rules the Gaza Strip, and other groups made a surprise attack in Israel on October 7th and carried out horrific massacres of civilians. More than 1,400 people were killed and in fighting in the following days. More than 230 other Israelis were deported to the Gaza Strip, including several who have both Israeli and German citizenship.
Ground troops are advancing
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then described Hamas as the “new Nazis” and stated the goal of destroying the Islamist organization. After around three weeks of air strikes on Hamas targets in the coastal strip, operations by Israeli ground troops have been underway since last Friday and are gradually being expanded.
Criticism of the Stern campaign
Erdan’s comparison of the current Gaza war to the Holocaust and World War II drew criticism from some Israelis. The head of the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, Dani Dayan, regretted the action.
“This act dishonors both the victims of the Holocaust and the state of Israel,” he wrote on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter. The Star of David symbolizes the helplessness of the Jewish people and their powerlessness compared to others. “Today we have an independent country and a strong army. We are masters of our destiny. Today we have a blue and white flag on our lapels, not a yellow patch,” Dajan added.
An Israeli IT specialist, who did not want to give his name, said that he, like many Jews around the world, has a certain basic fear of being attacked by others. “This fear, which was always there in the subconscious, is suddenly very relevant again due to the atrocities of Hamas. And the government is currently pushing these fear buttons,” said the young Israeli. But the Holocaust is unique and constant comparisons would only dishonor the victims.
According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, more than 8,300 people have died and more than 20,000 have been injured in the Gaza Strip so far.
Comparison with D-Day
UN Ambassador Erdan compared the advance of Israeli ground troops into the Gaza Strip in his speech to the Allied landings in Normandy in 1944. If the UN Security Council had existed on June 6, 1944, also known as D-Day, there would probably have been a heated debate about how much electricity and fuel Munich’s citizens still had, he told the council.
Erdan’s speech responded to growing global concern and criticism over the suffering of Palestinian civilians. He emphasized that comparing the deaths on both sides from the Hamas atrocities on October 7th was just as inadmissible as comparing German and British casualties in World War II. He compared the demand for a ceasefire in the Middle East to the demand for a ceasefire before the Russians recaptured Stalingrad in 1943.
