On Thursday evening, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan and the Permanent Mission of Israel to the UN held an event in the UN to launch a special exhibit titled, "THE KNESSET: Shaping Israeli Society."
Originally, the UN was unwilling to host the exhibit unless the Israeli Mission removed references to Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Ambassador Erdan staunchly refused, writing a strongly worded letter to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres that the Mission would not alter the exhibit. The UN conceded under the condition that the Mission add a disclaimer noting that these are not the views of the UN.
Ambassador Erdan said, "They wanted us to hide our Basic Law naming Jerusalem as our eternal capital. But we said no. We withheld not one photo and erased not one word. This is a victory for the truth, for history and for Israel."
The exhibit, on display through the end of this week, displays significant legislative accomplishments in Israel's history. Members of Knesset including Ofir Akunis, Inbar Bezek, and Gilad Kariv and dozens of Ambassadors and diplomatic staff from countries around the world attended the event alongside Jewish leaders from key organizations.