The United Nations’ fourth annual International Day of Commemoration will take place as planned Jan. 27, but Jewish Holocaust survivors plan to protest when the president of the General Assembly addresses the group.
“We continue to hope that he will find a way out of coming,” said Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, a vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors.
He was referring to Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua, a Roman Catholic priest and harsh critic of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians who is president of the General Assembly. He has claimed Israel is “crucifying our Palestinian brothers and sisters,” and called for a campaign of “boycott, sanctions and divestment” to pressure Israel to change its treatment of Palestinians.
Wiesenfeld said the survivors hope Brockmann might go elsewhere when the commemoration occurs “rather than coming to us and giving crocodile tears to our martyrs.”
The New York Jewish Week brings you the stories behind the headlines, keeping you connected to Jewish life in New York. Help sustain the reporting you trust by donating today.
