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The U.N. chief reportedly wasn’t invited to last year’s event, which came weeks after he said that Hamas didn’t attack Israel in a vacuum. (JNS sought comment from the Orthodox synagogue.)
Guterres wasn’t present this year either. Instead, Miguel Moratinos, the high representative for the U.N. Alliance of Civilizations and the United Nations focal point for monitoring Jew-hatred at the world body, represented the United Nations.
“The history of the Holocaust is one of total moral collapse, dehumanization, complicity and unimaginable atrocities,” Moratinos said at the Saturday service. “But amidst all the horror, there are also stories of humanity, and of courage.” (The U.N. website suggested that Moratinos was delivering a message from Guterres.)
Moratinos noted those who spoke and acted against the Nazis, including Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who was expelled from the diplomatic corps and died in poverty after producing visas and passports to save many fleeing Nazi-occupied France.
The U.N. official, who is Portuguese, was among those who supported a museum that opened last year honoring Sousa Mendes.
Earlier this month, Moratinos unveiled a long-awaited U.N. action plan to monitor and respond to antisemitism.
“This goes to the heart of the mission of the United Nations, which was established in the aftermath of the Holocaust,” Moratinos said. “We will never waiver in the fight for a world that promotes and protects the human rights of all.”
He also noted Oct. 7 at the beginning of his remarks. “At this somber occasion, I want to acknowledge that more than a year has passed since the appalling Oct. 7 terror attacks by Hamas,” Moratinos said. “We welcome, at long last, the ceasefire and hostage release deal. The deal offers hope, as well as much-needed relief. The United Nations will do our utmost to ensure it leads to the release of all hostages and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.”
