Dozens of UN Ambassadors Visit Israel, Witness Security Threats and Jewish History Sites
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JERUSALEM, Israel - Nearly 40 ambassadors from the United Nations are touring Israel this week to learn about the security challenges facing the tiny nation and the Jewish connection to the Holy Land.
The tour was organized by Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon and is aimed at strengthening Israel's relationships in the United Nations, a place that is notoriously hostile to the Jewish state.
On Sunday, the diplomats joined Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a trip to the Lebanese border where they saw with their own eyes an Iranian funded terror tunnel built by Hezbollah militants. Ambassador Danon stressed the importance of restraining Iranian aggression in the region.
"Dozens of #UN ambassadors saw first-hand a result of Iran's terror financing: Hezbollah terror tunnels into #Israel. This fight is not just a military one, but also diplomatic. The Security Council must designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization," Danon posted on Twitter.
Dozens of #UN ambassadors saw first-hand a result of Iran's terror financing: Hezbollah terror tunnels into #Israel. This fight is not just a military one, but also diplomatic. The Security Council must designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization. pic.twitter.com/0N1vk3u97f
— Ambassador Danny Danon | דני דנון (@dannydanon) February 3, 2019
The ambassadors also got a chance to visit the three-thousand-year-old archaeological excavations in the ancient City of David in Jerusalem on Friday.
"I have brought 40 United Nations Ambassadors here to the City of David; to see where it all began. Three-thousand years ago, this is where King David established his capital city. The land of Israel is our ancestral homeland and Jerusalem is our eternal capital. We will continue to bring United Nations Ambassadors, diplomats and staffers here to the City of David, because there is nowhere better on earth that City of David to demonstrate the Jewish people's historic connection to Jerusalem. At UNESCO our history became a point of debate and was later denied. It is easy to theorize from afar," Danon said in a statement.
The City of David is the place recorded in the Bible where King David established Jerusalem as the united capital of Israel, and which remained the seat of the Davidic dynasty for centuries thereafter.
The diplomats also visited another site that has been harshly contested by the United Nations - the Western Wall. UNESCO has denied that there are Jewish ties to the Temple Mount and Western Wall. Ambassador Danon wanted to show the diplomats that is not true.
Along with dozens of #UN ambassadors, I wish everyone a peaceful and restful Shabbat Shalom from #Jerusalem! pic.twitter.com/XhnKZXAAR7
— Ambassador Danny Danon | דני דנון (@dannydanon) February 1, 2019
Last week, Danon explained the importance of Israel's existence by taking the ambassadors to the Nazi death camps where millions of Jews died in the Holocaust.
"This week, I took dozens of #UN ambassadors to visit death camps in Poland, to witness one of the darkest periods in human history. These ambassadors will share their experiences, keeping alive the victims' stories," Danon said, adding that Israel is "the place that guarantees 'Never Again!'”
This week, I took dozens of #UN ambassadors to visit death camps in Poland, to witness one of the darkest period in human history. These ambassadors will share their experiences, keeping alive the victims' stories. We now travel to #Israel,the place that guarantees "Never Again!" pic.twitter.com/yJwpjYPfEZ
— Ambassador Danny Danon | דני דנון (@dannydanon) January 30, 2019
Danon hopes the ambassadors will leave with a deeper appreciation for Israel. He said last week that while there are many people who openly condemn Israel at the UN, many appreciate and "even admire" Israel behind closed doors.
"My challenge…is to close that gap and to ask them, push them to publicly recognize Israel," he said.
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