NEW YORK - About 50 diplomats from all over the world joined Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan to celebrate Passover with a mock Seder at the organization’s headquarters in Manhattan on Wednesday.
"This year, when we think of let my people go, we will also think of Ukraine," Erdan, who also served as ambassador to the United States until 2021, told his colleagues, referencing the Passover story of Jewish slavery amid the ongoing Russian invasion of its southwestern neighbor.
The ambassadors, from countries including the US, Ukraine, Japan, Mexico, Argentina and Hungary, were served the traditional Passover meal and learned about the Seder, its meaning, rituals and customs from leaders of the Aish International Jewish outreach organization. The UN's mock Seder tradition was started in 2016 by his predecessor Danny Danon.
"As Israel's Ambassador, witnessing the atrocities in Ukraine continue makes me think that if Israel is faced with an existential threat, no international agreement or international organization will come to our rescue: We can only rely on ourselves," Erdan said on Wednesday.
"Friends, fellow ambassadors, the question we must all ask ourselves is: Are we doing enough?" he said. "We must ask this every day, till the bloodshed stops."