Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, spoke to Arutz Sheva-Israel National News from the March of the Living in Auschwitz, as part of a delegation of UN representatives.
Ambassador Danon says it’s very important to know that, “Auschwitz was liberated eighty years ago, and after that, the United Nations was established. But the hate is still here. The same hate, same incitement. Back then, we saw the swastikas; today, we see the keffiyehs. We see the hatred against Jews all around the world, and we have to stand up strong. There is one major difference. Today we have our own state. Today, we have our own military. Today we can control our future, and that's what we are saying to the ambassadors.”
“I'm grateful that thirty UN ambassadors from different countries have joined me in this delegation. They will visit Auschwitz today. Tonight we will fly to Israel. We will go visit the communities in the south, and we'll show them the challenges that we are facing in Israel today,” Danon adds.
Danon says that the participants’ response to the visit is moving. "Once you go into Auschwitz, you walk out a different person. It’s not my first visit, but every time I come, it's very emotional. Also, for them to be here and to hear the survivors. We are lucky that there are still survivors who can who can speak and share what happened here.”
He emphasized, “When we in Israel say that we are determined to do whatever we need to do to protect ourselves, we mean it. Only a week ago, the Iranian leaders spoke about the extermination of the State of Israel. That's a UN member state, a leader who will come to the UN in September to speak there, threatening to exterminate the Jewish people. We take it seriously, and we will do whatever is needed to make sure it will not happen again.”
Danon agrees that there is a connection between the visit to Auschwitz and the visit to southern Israel, saying, “We will visit the communities. We will meet the people who have come back to live in the communities. For us, it's very important because at the UN, most of the time, the focus is on the other side, on what's happening in Gaza.”
“For me, it's important that they understand what happened on October 7th and why we are committed to continuing until we bring back the hostages and until we eradicate Hamas,” he concluded.