It’s not every day that an Israeli citizen comes to the United Nations to denounce his birth country and its policies. But that’s exactly what happened last week, when Hagai Elad, director of radical NGO B’tselem, came to the Security Council to condemn Israel for “war crimes,” charging that as long as the international community fails to intervene, Israel will continue to oppress millions of Palestinians.

Worse, as Elad delivered his diatribe, sitting by his side was Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the UN, who thanked Elad profusely for his statement and then went on to accuse Israel of apartheid and ethnic cleansing.

When it was his turn to speak, Israel’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Danny Danon, departed from protocol and addressed Elad in Hebrew, a non-official language at the United Nations.

“Mr. Elad, you are a citizen of Israel who serves our enemies,” Danon said. “They are using you against us. IDF soldiers protect you, and yet you come here to slander them? Shame on you, collaborator!”

Later, I asked Danon if he regretted addressing Elad in such stark terms. Perhaps he could have better expressed his point more subtly?

“I think I could have spoken out even more strongly,” he countered. “You see [Elad] in total cooperation with the Palestinian representative. What’s that if not collaboration with those who wish to harm us?!”

In a pointed jab, Danon also told the Security Council that B’tselem receives much of its funding from the European Union and was invited to address the Security Council by Bolivia, a country with a poor record on human rights.

“It was a circus,” Danon added. “It wasn’t meant to deliver a meaningful message or spark a discussion but simply to embarrass us.”

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 732)