Chabad.org Staff June 25, 2019 2:34 PM
Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein, who was seriously injured in an anti-Semitic attack at Chabad of Poway, Calif., will address the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday in a special session devoted to rising anti-Semitism around the world.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres will open the discussion, followed by the president of the U.N. General Assembly, María Fernanda Espinosa. Goldstein, who was invited at the personal request of Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon, will then address the session. Ambassadors from countries around the world, the European coordinator for combating anti-Semitism and other dignitaries will also address the gathering.
“The Rebbe, whose 25th yahrtzeit will be marked this July 6, taught us that the response to darkness must be increased light,” Goldstein told Chabad.org. “Those teachings gave me the courage to stand strong in the face of evil, and it is those same teachings that I will share with the United Nations General Assembly during its session on anti-Semitism.”
Goldstein was shot and wounded during the attack on April 27, when John Earnest, 19, entered the synagogue, shot and killed Lori Gilbert Kaye, and wounded two others in addition to the rabbi. In fact, it took place six months to the day after 11 people were massacred at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh on Oct. 27, 2018.
Danon said the discussion is another important step to end the silence of the international community as “a wave of anti-Semitism sweeps the world.”