This week, the United Nations General Assembly convenes in New York, offering a unique opportunity for 193 member states to come together, debate, and work toward solutions to the world’s most pressing crises. It is supposed to be a time for leadership, global responsibility, and multilateral cooperation, a moment to tackle challenges like war, climate change, and poverty head-on.
Yet, this year’s session is shaping up to be nothing more than an embarrassing political circus – one, it may be worth pointing out, held exactly during Rosh Hashanah.
Instead of allocating equal resources and attention to all major crises worldwide, like the ongoing war in Ukraine or the humanitarian disaster in Sudan, the General Assembly is about to make a dangerous spectacle out of entertaining Palestinian adventurism, with no regard for the violent actors driving the Palestinian cause.
The danger of Hamas
Hamas, a designated terrorist organization, remains in control of Gaza, where it continues to threaten both Israelis and Palestinians.
This terrorist group is responsible for the October 7 massacre, where over 1,200 civilians, including women and children, were brutally murdered, and more than 250 people were taken hostage. Some of those murdered and taken hostage were citizens of other UN member states, including the United States, Britain, Argentina, Nepal, and Thailand.
Historical amnesia has kicked in. Nearly two years after this horrific atrocity, the assembly has yet to pass a formal, unequivocal condemnation of Hamas. This moral vacuum sends a chilling message to the world: that terrorism and mass murder can be ignored, even legitimized, for the sake of political expediency.
Even more egregious is the international community’s failure to focus on the 48 hostages still held in Gaza who remain trapped in inhumane conditions. The UN, instead of demanding their immediate and unconditional release, has focused on symbolic gestures that reward instead of sanction terror. This is not just an oversight. It’s a moral and diplomatic failure.
Member states like France have played a role. They have expended energy and time organizing pointless summits and endorsing resolutions that seek to elevate the Palestinian cause at the UN, with tepid demands of accountability from the Palestinian Authority or Hamas.
Advocating for the hostages
These same nations, which claim to stand for human rights and the protection of civilians, have shown little urgency in advocating for the release of hostages held by Hamas. Instead, they’ve continued to champion a political agenda that undermines the fight for justice and peace in the region.
By platforming such empty statements, these countries are complicit in rewarding terror. The Palestinian leadership, including both the PA and Hamas, has shown no real commitment to peace or coexistence with Israel.
The continuous glorification of violence and rejection of any genuine negotiations makes it clear that the path to peace cannot be paved through UN resolutions that sidestep security concerns and fail to address the real threats to regional stability.
There have been no calls by these member states on PA President Mahmoud Abbas to condemn the October 7 atrocities, nor have we seen any calls on those apparently peace-seeking nations to end the PA’s appalling “pay-to-slay” martyr payments that glorify terrorism.
The reality is that France and other countries have turned the General Assembly into a political theater, distracting from the real human suffering in Israel and Gaza. France has chosen to abandon its serious domestic challenges by taking part in a charade of “peace” conferences, including a summit set to take place the week of the assembly.
They have chosen to ignore the hostages still languishing in captivity, sidelining their plight for the sake of political calculations. In doing so, they’re sending the message that international law, human rights, and the safety of innocent civilians can be sacrificed for a seat at the diplomatic table.
The General Assembly could have used this moment to take a stand for peace, to demand the immediate release of the hostages, to hold Hamas accountable, and to push for a genuine peace process, one that involves all parties, not just the actors who choose violence over dialogue. Instead, it has chosen to reward the very forces responsible for the ongoing bloodshed.
If, at this month’s assembly meeting, unilateral steps are taken regarding the recognition of a Palestinian state, one can expect that Israel will also take unilateral steps.
If the UN wants to remain relevant and credible, it must stop being a platform for political games and start standing up for the values it was created to uphold 80 years ago. That means unequivocally condemning terrorism. That means demanding the release of hostages. And that means insisting on peace, not political theater.
The world is watching. And history will remember.
The writer is Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations.