Knesset Speaker Cancels U.N. Meeting, Calls for Global Action at IPU Conference

By Aryeh Stern

​​After canceling a scheduled meeting in New York on Friday with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, citing the latter’s remarks from the night before in which he claimed that Israel was violating international law in its war against Hamas in Gaza, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana addressed a conference of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) at the U.N. headquarters. The theme of the conference was “Putting an end to conflicts: Prescriptions for a peaceful future.”

As Ohana began his speech, representatives of Arab and Muslim countries walked out of the meeting.

In his speech, Ohana said, “In April 1903, more than 50 Jews were slaughtered, butchered, and murdered in the city of Kishinev just for being Jewish. This did not happen in a vacuum.

“In August 1929, 133 Jews were slaughtered, butchered, and murdered in the cities of Chevron and Tzfas in the land of Israel just for being Jewish. This did not happen in a vacuum.

“Between the years 1939 and 1945, six million Jews were slaughtered, butchered, murdered, and gassed throughout Europe, just for being Jewish. This did not happen in a vacuum.

“On Oct. 7, 2023, more than 1,200 Jews were slaughtered, butchered, murdered, [assaulted], burned, and kidnapped, just for being Jewish. This did not happen in a vacuum.

“This may have happened because centuries-old Jew hatred was tolerated – even in this institution.

“When WE said never again, we MEANT never again. How about the rest of the world?”