UN Head Disappoints in Holocaust Remembrance Day Speech

A speech by U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day fell short of expectations of the Israeli ambassador, reports The Times of Israel.

Israeli envoy Gilad Erdan, following conversations with Guterres and his staff, expected that he would announce the international body’s adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism, which was endorsed by the General Assembly earlier in the week.

However, Guterres gave less than a full embrace of the definition, something the Israeli delegation had worked hard to advance.

His words were disappointingly vague, acknowledging that “countries that have agreed on the common definition of antisemitism” without specifying it was the IHRA’s, and omitting reference to anti-Israel criticism that can fall within its definition.

“It is important to be clear about what antisemitism is. A shared understanding can serve not only the work of the United Nations, but all global efforts to uphold human rights and human dignity,” Guterres said, while making no mention of a decision to officially adopt the definition.

Erdan told Kan public radio on Wednesday that “after many conversations I had with him and… his point man on the fight against antisemitism, I expect that tomorrow in his speech [Guterres] will declare that the UN is adopting the [IHRA] definition and is applying it to all UN bodies.”

But such was not the case.