Israel launched a Knesset exhibition at the United Nations, called "THE KNESSET: Shaping Israeli Society," marking Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
"Though the UN opposed any mention of Jerusalem as our eternal capital, we refused to cave in. Our exhibit is now up, and it includes Jerusalem as our capital in the clearest terms," Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan said.
Initial pushback
The UN was originally unwilling to host the exhibit unless the Israeli Mission removed references to Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Erdan firmly refused, and in response wrote a strongly worded letter to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres stating that the Mission would not alter the exhibit.
The UN agreed to keep the exhibit under the condition that the Mission will add a disclaimer noting that these are not the views of the UN.
במטה האו"ם בניו יורק נחנכה בפעם הראשונה תערוכה של הכנסת שמציגה את חוקי יסוד שמהווים את היסודות עליהם ניצבת הדמוקרטיה הישראלית, עיגנו זכויות אזרח ואשר עיצבו את דמותה של מדינת ישראל כמדינתו של העם היהודי. pic.twitter.com/rf3aMm3ayT
— מיקי לוי - Mickey Levy (@MKMickeyLevy) May 20, 2022
"They wanted us to hide our Basic Law naming Jerusalem as our eternal capital. But we said no. We withheld not one photo and erased not one word. This is a victory for the truth, for history and for Israel," said Erdan.
“The exhibit before you presents the most important milestones in the life of the Knesset, which serve as the foundations on which Israeli democracy stands, as well as the passing of historic and pioneering basic laws that have shaped the character of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish People, enshrined the rights of all the citizens, irrespective of religion, race or gender, and provided a platform for rich and diverse pluralistic discourse," Knesset Speaker Mickey Levy said.
Levy and Erdan added that they have no intention of removing or censoring photos or the accompanying written explanations.
It was eventually decided that the “controversial" photos would be displayed with a disclaimer stating that “The designations employed and the presentation of material on this display do not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations."
The exhibit, on display through the end of this week, displays significant legislative accomplishments in Israel's history. Knesset members Ofir Akunis (Likud), Inbar Bezek (Yesh Atid), and Gilad Kariv (Labor) and dozens of ambassadors and diplomatic staff from countries around the world attended the event alongside Jewish leaders from key organizations.