Former Israeli ambassador believes unity and strength will bode well for Jewish future
The Pacific Club in Newport Beach proved to be a wonderful backdrop for an Israeli diplomat to share his views on Israel, the free world, and the United Nations at a dinner on March 26. Gilad Erdan, who was the 18th permanent representative of Israel to the UN until August 2024, was invited by entrepreneur and philanthropist Benny Mor and addressed about 200 people.
Erdan does not mince words when it comes to the UN. Still, Amb. Erdan, who served in the Israeli Knesset for 17 years, was an ambassador from Israel to the United States, and now serves as global president of Magen David Adom (MDA), is optimistic about the future of the free world.
According to Erdan, “The UN is criminal. It must be dismantled and replaced. The massacre in Israel on October 7 was thirty times as bad as 9/11, but the UN didn’t meet to help Israelis. UN bodies condemned Israel, saying Israel committed genocide, but not a single UN body has condemned Hamas. The UN is not just a failure. It is a disgrace.”
Although the UN voted to establish Israel in 1947, Israel receives 70 percent of Israel’ condemnations every year, making the UN “a weapon of intolerance against Israel,” Erdan said. How did this happen?
When the UN was born in 1945, one month after the end of World War II, there were fifty-one member nations that were “diverse in culture but united in wanting to prevent genocide,” Erdan explained. The UN expanded, empires crumbled, and power shifted. Now there are 193 countries in the UN. Over half are not democracies, and fifty-six are Muslim countries that vote together as a bloc. “The arsonists have taken over the fire house,” Erdan said. “Saudi Arabia chairs women’s rights, and Iran chairs disarmament.”
Why the obsession with Israel? Erdan believes that Israel’s enemies think they can execute their “Satanic” plan to destroy Israel and use the UN as a weapon. In 1975 these enemies said that Zionism was racism. In 2001 the Palestinians hijacked an anti-racism conference in Durban, South Africa, “using blood libel and branding Israel as a perpetrator,” thus creating the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, he explained.
Erdan added, “The UN is not just corrupt; it is a weapon against Israel. A lie travels around the world before the truth can get its shoes on. The UN’s actions poured fuel on the fire of terrorist protests and influenced the Biden administration. The Hamas attack did not happen in a vacuum. I never stayed silent. I stood up for the truth and opposed the lies.”
He speculated about the future with or without the UN, saying that the organization is going down the same road as the League of Nations. It accomplishes nothing while legitimizing terrorism,” he said. “We have to defund the UN and replace it with the League of Democracy, an organization that will play by our rules.
In terms of the war in Gaza, Erdan said that the Ayatollah’s real target is the US, and Israel has to settle for nothing less than the total destruction of Hamas. Israel is fighting a war on seven fronts with hostages still in captivity.
“Hamas will never surrender power,” Erdan said. “The only way forward is through force. Cut off supplies. We can’t fuel the enemy’s war machine. It’s not just Hamas. It’s Gaza’s entire culture of savagery.”
Erdan advocated keeping an eye on Hezbollah as well. He said that the organization is as weak as it has been in 20 years. While Hezbollah displaced 70,000 Israelis, Israel attacked Hezbollah’s pagers. Iran is “the head of the snake,” and President Donald Trump has put all options on the table – sanctions, choking the economy, and cutting off the military. Israel is getting the backing of the US to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities. “That would be a watershed moment for the free world to free people from tyranny,” he said.
He concluded,” The Abraham Accords made partners double down – the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and others. Not even the sky is the limit. The circle of peace will grow wider. Israel’s strength has turned the tide.”
Ilene Schneider has been chronicling Jewish life in Orange County for five publications since 1978. She has served as a communications consultant for a number of Jewish organizations. She is a contributing writer to Jlife Magazine.