Gabriella Shalev, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, will be joined by other Jewish leaders in walking out on UN General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua if he uses Tuesday's observance of International Holocaust Rememberance Day to attack Israel, as he has done in the past, according to Haaretz. Anti-Defamation League leader Abraham Foxman told the newspaper, "The best idea is for him to be missing from the ceremony. If he comes, one can hope he'll control himself and only talk about the Holocaust. If he behaves otherwise, we'll leave the auditorium."
In a statement issued Friday, the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations said that Brockmann's extremist rhetoric about Israel made his presence inappropriate: "Ambassador d'Escoto's extreme anti-Israel statements violate the very essence of the Holocaust commemoration... We would hope that Ambassador d'Escoto would choose not to be present so that the sacred intent of the commemoration is maintained."
Brockmann, a Roman Catholic priest, is scheduled to open the observance. The featured speaker will be Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau of Tel Aviv, a former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel and Holocaust survivor.