Just weeks ago in New York City, the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution demanding Israel immediately enact a cease-fire and stop all military operations in Gaza. The cease-fire was not conditioned upon Hamas’ release of the more than 130 hostages the terror group has continued to hold and torture since October 7 of last year.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the decision “harms efforts to return the hostages and stabilize the region by eliminating the radical forces and strengthening the moderate forces.”

To date, Hamas has refused to agree to any resolution that requires it to release the hostages.

Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan elaborated, saying, “On the one hand, the resolution says that taking civilians hostage is in violation of international law, yet on the other hand — despite the fact that you know Hamas won’t listen to your calls and release the hostages — you demand a ceasefire.”

Erdan continued, saying the U.N.’s refusal to tie the cease-fire to the release of hostages “not only isn’t helpful, but it undermines the effort to secure their release. It is harmful to these efforts because it gives Hamas terrorists hope to get a ceasefire without releasing the hostages.”

Erdan then read the text of a previous U.N. resolution that should have been adopted in this instance. The resolution text condemned hostage taking and rape as human rights abuses and demanded the perpetrators immediately cease their war crimes. The text Erdan read was adopted by this same U.N. Security Council 10 years ago in response to Boko Haram’s kidnapping and mass rapes of Nigerian schoolgirls.

“Why can this council call on Boko Haram to lay down their arms, but the same can’t be demanded of the murderous Hamas terrorists?” Erdan asked. “Is the life of little baby Kfir Bibas worth less than the life of a Nigerian child?”

“Sadly, it’s for the same reason why you can condemn terror attacks in Russia and Iran, but not in Israel. To this council, Israeli blood is cheap. This is a travesty and I’m disgusted,” the ambassador added.

Because Hamas will not be required to release the hostages as a condition of the cease-fire, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant declared that Israel “has no moral right to stop the war in Gaza.”

“The State of Israel will not hold fire,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “We will destroy Hamas and continue to fight until the last of the abductees return home.”

The will of the Israeli people is set — they will not rest until every single hostage held by Hamas is returned. The only thing standing in their way is the now openly antisemitic, anti-Israel United Nations that your and my tax dollars keep propping up.

As of fiscal year 2022, the United States is the top funder of the U.N. One-quarter of the United States’ entire foreign aid budget goes directly to the globalist enterprise.

Americans should not be forced to pay for what is clearly a design to cripple and eliminate the world’s only Jewish state.

As you do, please consider making a special donation to help CIDI defend Israel in this time of profound crisis.

Thank you for your much-appreciated friendship. Together, let’s pray for the Israeli people and stand with Israel in her time of need!

Mat Staver
Chairman
Christians in Defense of Israel

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Sources:

Berman, Lazar. “Blaming UN Vote, Israel Pulls Negotiators from Qatar after Hamas Rejects Truce Deal. The Times of Israel, March 26, 2024. Timesofisrael.com/blaming-un-vote-israel-pulls-negotiators-from-qatar-after-hamas-rejects-truce-deal/.

Fabian, Emanuel, and Lazar Berman. “Israel Pushes Back on UN Ceasefire Call; Gallant: We’ve ‘No Moral Right’ to End War.” The Times of Israel, March 25, 2024. Timesofisrael.com/israel-pushes-back-on-un-ceasefire-call-gallant-weve-no-moral-right-to-end-war/.

‌“Funding the United Nations: How Much Does the U.S. Pay?” Council on Foreign Relations, February 29, 2024. Cfr.org/article/funding-united-nations-what-impact-do-us-contributions-have-un-agencies-and-programs.

‌Nichols, Michelle, and Nidal Al-Mughrabi. “UN Security Council Demands Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza after US Abstains.” Reuters, March 25, 2024. Reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-security-council-demands-immediate-ceasefire-gaza-2024-03-25/.