The International Council of B’nai B’rith Monday night hosted the first United Nations Purim party ever held at UN headquarters. Speaking for International Council chairman Philip Lax, who was unable to attend, Dr. Harris Schoenberg, director of United Nations Affairs, said he hopes it will be the first annual UN Purim party and that there will always be something to celebrate.
Illustrating his remarks with Purim and UN stories, Schoenberg recalled the central role of Jews who contributed to the drafting of the UN Charter and the codification of an international bill of human rights.
“Like Mordecai and Esther of old, they had served the common welfare after helping to rid the world of a vicious tyrant with genocidal intent,” Schoenberg said. “Today we again face anti-Semites, this time inside the UN. Jews feel alienated and threatened. But with the help of modern Jewish heroes and heroines we will overcome the hatemongers and restore the UN to the purposes and principles of its Charter.”
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
