Israel's Statement to the Anti-Israel "Commission of Inquiry"

"Honorable Chair, Edo Avigal was a five-year-old boy. He loved to laugh and played hide-and-seek with his sisters. But unlike most other five years old, Edo was faced with the constant threat of terror. Edo lived in Sderot, an Israeli town bordering Gaza, which for years has suffered thousands of deliberate rocket attacks at the hands of Hamas, a designated terror organization; a fact that everyone in this room is fully aware of. Edo knew the drill. When the rocket sirens blared, he would run as fast as he could to the closest bomb shelter. On the evening of May 12, 2021, during Operation Guardian of the Walls, when hundreds of rockets were indiscriminately fired at Edo’s town, the rocket sirens once again wailed and Edo dashed to the shelter with his mother, Shani. Seconds later, there was a loud boom. Shani was afraid, but she told herself the rocket couldn’t have penetrate; we’re safe here. At that moment, she felt Edo fall into her arms. Perhaps he was afraid and needed comfort. Shani looked down and, in that moment, saw that Edo, her beloved Edo, had gaping wounds. Rocket shrapnel had penetrated the shelter, killing Edo instantly. Shani’s sweet child lay dead in her arms.

But Edo’s heartbreaking story, like the stories of all Israeli victims of terror, are meaningless; meaningless to these hate-filled commissioners. Their report deliberately omits any mention of Hamas or their thousands of indiscriminately fired rockets, while exclusively placing all the blame for every aspect of the conflict on the law-abiding liberal democracy of Israel. We have here today, Shani and Asaf Avigal, Edo’s parents. Members of the COI, can you look into the eyes of Edo’s parents and explain to them why you deliberately ignored their son’s murder? How can you be so heartless? How?

Mr. Chair, the report that was just presented holds not a grain of legitimacy, just as the Commission that wrote it holds no legitimacy. For 2,000 years, the Jewish people have been exiled, tortured, and butchered. The anti-Semites always blamed the Jews for all of the world’s evils.

Today, it’s no longer politically correct to openly blame the Jews for all of the world’s problems. So anti-Semitism adapted. Rather than burning the Jew at the stake, anti-Semites burned the Jewish state at the stake. And nowhere in this is this more apparent than at the Human Rights Council, where all of the blame is put on the most vibrant democracy in the Middle East, while the crimes of the biggest human rights violators are ignored.

Here are some facts that prove this: The Council has adopted more resolutions condemning Israel than resolutions condemning Syria, Iran, and North Korea combined. The Council dedicated a permanent special agenda item against Israel, the only country in the world to have this, ensuring that not a single Council session passes without the chance to bash Israel. Nothing screams anti-Semitism more than this blatant double standard against the one and only Jewish state. Thirty percent of the Council’s COIs have targeted Israel, a country representing one-tenth of 1% of the world population. See the pattern?

Now let’s take a look at some of the countries that voted to establish this current inquisition: Libya, Somalia, Venezuela, Russia, China, and the list goes on. These are the countries that support investigating free liberal democracies.

Do you know which countries opposed? Yesterday, we heard President Biden’s strong opposition to the COI and the damage it causes. But aside from the UK, the UK, Canada, Austria, Germany, and many more robust democracies spoke out against this clear bias. When it comes to human rights, who has more credibility? The Council is a mockery just like this Commission is a mockery.

What’s more is that the Commission was given an open-ended mandate, making it the first such Commission in history. No expense can be spared when demonizing Israel. That’s why this Commission was given more manpower and funding than any Commission before it.

And most importantly, how do you choose commissioners that will ensure the desired outcome of demonizing Israel? You don’t choose them for their investigative skills, but rather for their very public and very poisonous hatred of Israel. They were chosen precisely because they abhorred the Jewish state.

Commissioners, let’s recall some of your more notable quotes that prove your prejudice against Israel. Ms. Pillay, calling Israel an apartheid state and supporting boycott of Israel are the only reasons why you were chosen to lead this Commission. Could anyone honestly think you’re impartial? Mr. Sidoti, not only do you ridicule anti-Semitism, you’re also a strong supporter of numerous pro-Palestinian organizations. You’re definitely not an objective member. Mr. Kothari. According to Mr. Kothari, Israel doesn’t even deserve to be a member of the UN, and that’s just a taste of his venomous statements.

Such Jew hatred has no place in any workplace, let alone in an institution such as this. Maybe the UN could learn from Adidas when it comes to hiring blatant anti-Semites. Shame, shame, shame.

Mr. Chair, the Human Rights Council has long lost any semblance of legitimacy. The decision to establish this Commission had no semblance of legitimacy and, therefore, the report presented here today lacks any legitimacy.

Esteemed colleagues, the real place for this report is not at the UN, but in the dustbin. The only decision that should be made here today is to demand that this destructive terror-supporting Commission be disbanded."