JEWISH WORLD

By CAROLINE GLICK T he Israeli Left likes to claim that its no-holds-barred fight against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his sup- porters is an ideological struggle that pits the forces of democracy and old-time Zionism against the forces of tyranny and tribalism. Events of recent weeks tell the opposite tale. In 2008, then-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin leaped onto the world stage following then-Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain’s surprise decision to select the young, charismatic first-term governor as his running mate. In one of the early photos released following her selection, Palin was seen standing behind her desk in the Alaska governor’s office. Amid the mementos and family photos, a small flag of Is- rael hung from her wall. Amazed Israelis marveled at the unexpected display of friendship from the until-then unknown gov- ernor halfway around the world. Many assumed that Palin’s support for Israel was due to her evangeli- cal Christian faith. But while her faith did inform her position, so did her attachment to Alaska. Ma- ny Alaskans view their history as enmeshed with that of the State of Israel due to a little known histori- cal episode that happened in 1949. M onths after Israel was found- ed, and as Arab armies still pounded it from all sides, the pro- visional government asked Alaska Airlines, the airline of what was then the U.S. territory of Alaska, to take on the daring mission of trans- porting the Jews of Yemen home to the new Jewish state. Over a period of seven months, in what became known as “Oper- ation Magic Carpet,” Alaska Air- lines crews risked their lives day in and day out to bring 40,000 Jews from Yemen to Israel. Alaska Airlines features the tale — from the Alaskans’ perspective — on its website. Among other things, the site includes this quote from flight attendant Marian Webster: “We realized this was going to be part of the history of Israel.” And through Metzger and her colleagues, it also became part of Alaskan history, joining the fates By GILAD ERDAN T he United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) just concluded its 75th session. In his opening remarks, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guter- res recalled that following World War II and the Holocaust, the UN stood as a beacon for a better world. As we now face another world-transforming crisis unlike any we have ever seen, it is worth considering: Does the UN deserve another 75 years? As a veteran political leader, having served in various leadership roles, including as strategic affairs minister tasked with combating anti-Semitism and anti-Israel dis- crimination abroad, I am familiar with the criticism of the UN for its institutional biases and failures. However, I was determined to be- gin my tour of duty as Israel’s per- manent representative to the inter- national organization with an open mind. One of the first issues that arose upon my arrival to Turtle Bay, the home of UN headquarters in New York, was the U.S. effort to rein- state international sanctions on the world’s number-one state sponsor of terrorism, Iran. For the past five years, the Islamic regime has used the divi- dends of the nuclear agreement to sow chaos and destruction across our region. Even before the Trump administration pulled the United States out of the deal in 2018, Iran had used its financial windfall to arm and train terrorist proxies in Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Libya and Gaza. It is abundantly clear that since the nuclear agreement took shape in 2015, Iran has made the Middle East, and the world for that matter, a much more dangerous place. O ne clear example of this grow- ing danger is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent reve- lation during his address before the UNGA that Hezbollah, Iran’s ter- rorist proxy, is building a secret arms depot to stockpile missiles in a civilian neighborhood in Beirut. I have called upon the Security continued on page 20 Israel’s ambassador to the UN is uneasy CANDLE LIGHTING continued on page xx 115 Middle Neck Rd. Great Neck, NY 11021 516-594-4000 The award-winning independent Jewish newspaper of Long Island Publisher & editor-in-chief Jerome Wm. Lippman Assistant Editor Jeff Helmreich Features Editor Barbara Weinblatt Travel Editor Tania Grossinger Editorial Assistant Megan Batt Contributors Douglas M. Bloomfield, Shira Dicker, Lawrence J. Epstein, Marcelle Sussman Fischler, Ezra Goldstein,, Sandy Portnoy, Joseph R. Rackman, Erica Rauzin, Walter Ruby, Lawrence H. Schiffman, Barbara Schultz, Jacob Stein, Carol Steinberg, Harold S. 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Local Offices: 1441 President Street Brooklyn, N.Y. 11213 311 W. 37th Street New York, N.Y. 10018 Self-Righteous Infamy Top Israeli protester’s shocking racist attack ANALYSIS Haskel and his fellow protesters have repeatedly and deliberately broke government-ordered legal restrictions on gatherings during the COVID pandemic. The UN won’t embrace peace and consider Hezbollah a dangerous terrorist organization. How can we expect it to be capable of any bold action tomorrow? Gilad Erdan, Israel’s new ambassador to the UN, sees a “perverse disconnect between the high ideals” of its charter and its actual behavior. continued on page 26 Friday, October 16 Candles 5:54 pm Shabbat ends 6:51 pm Friday, October 23 Candles 5:44 pm Shabbat ends 6:42 pm Police forcibly evict Brig. Gen. (res.) Amir Haskel, prominent leader of the protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, from a tent near Netanyahu’s official Jeruslaem residence. The United Nations at 75 4 JEWISH WORLD • OCTOBER 16-22, 2020 PERSPECTIVE