Rabbi's Blog

Dear OZ family,

Today was an historic day at the United Nations. For only the second time, an Israeli led resolution passed in the General Assembly with 114 co-sponsors, declaring holocaust denial an international crime. Very moving supportive statements were made by the Russian Federation, Germany, the European Union, The United States, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Guatemala, The United Kingdom, Egypt and Malaysia. The Ukrainian ambassador even quoted from the prophet Yeshayahu about Yad Vashem, and the Jewish way of perpetuating memory. The UN Secretary General spoke movingly in a private ceremony, about how privileged he felt to put forth the resolution.

I was invited by our member, Michael Baror, who is the counselor for human rights at the Israeli Mission to the UN, and I accompanied another member, Hilde Khnie who was deported to the Lodz ghetto in 1942, and survived Auschwitz, and death marches. She is an amazing person and was the oldest survivor who attended the proceedings today. The Israeli ambassador, Gilad Erdan spoke eloquently of the need for this resolution, and everyone in the room agreed, with one exception. As sure as a leopard cannot change its spots, the Iranian ambassador made a clownish fool of himself in explaining why his country was against the resolution. His statements were farcical, and mostly relied upon the infamous UN resolution equating Zionism with racism, made while the former Nazi, Kurt Waldheim was the Secretary General.

January 20^th 2022 will go down as an important day for Israel, especially as it is 80 years to the day of the infamous meeting at Wannsee, where the Final Solution was crafted, and begun to be implemented. The complicit silence of the world led to the murder of one and a half million children, of six million innocents, and the one country who publicly calls all this a hoax, vows to visit another genocidal attack on Jews. Make no mistake, Iran is a threat to Jews the world over, whether in Israel, Argentina or Bulgaria. This is why the very last time Haman is mentioned in Megillat Esther, he is called the enemy of all the Jews, “Tzorer Kol Hayehudim”, and today’s event showed Iran’s similar venom on full display. Let us hope that the General Assembly’s actions indicate that the world won’t stand by once again as millions of Jewish lives are threatened.    

Of course there is a big difference this time. Today we can defend ourselves. The miracle of a flourishing Israel surrounded for so many years by enemies dedicated to her destruction, is nothing short of astonishing. Some of her neighbors are starting to resolve themselves to Israel’s existence. The Egyptian ambassador today spoke beautifully in support of today’s resolution, as did the Malaysian ambassador. May this be a harbinger for a more fair treatment of Israel at the UN.

Be safe.    Be healthy.  Be excellent.

Rabbi Allen Schwartz  

Rabbi Allen Schwartz

Congregation Ohab Zedek

118 West 95^th Street | New York, NY  10025-6604

Phone 212.749-5150, ext 200 | Fax 212.663-3635

E-mail ras@ozny.org

Website:  www.ozny.org