Thank you, Mr. President,

 

I want to begin by extending Israels thanks to Under-Secretary General Radhika Coomaraswamy, who worked tirelessly to protect children throughout her tenure as Special Representative. Although we did not always agree, Ms. Coomaraswamy and her staff provided a unique model of professionalism and leadership within the UN system.

 

I would also like to congratulate Ms. Leila Zerrougui on her appointment as the new Special Representative on Children in Armed Conflict. We look forward to working closely with her and her staff to further their important mission.

 

Mr. President,

 

In too many corners of the world today children are scarred by hate, not sheltered by love. They are exploited in conflict, not protected by law. They are targeted with violence, not treated with care and compassion.

 

In his report, the Secretary-General offers numerous important recommendations for action. We echo his call on all states to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Targeted measures should be put in place against persistent perpetrators of grave violations against children, who are listed in the annexes to the annual report. UN peacekeeping operations should incorporate specific provisions for the protection of children.

 

The consequences of inaction are clear. When we fail to protect children, we fail to protect our future. And today the world is failing to protect the children of Syria from the guns, tanks, and fighter jets of the brutal Assad regime.

 

Over the summer, an 11-year-old Syrian boy named Ali Sayyid spoke to the German magazine Der Speigel. He told the magazine about the night that Assads forces massacred his entire family in al-Houla.

 

He said, (and I quote) I woke up just before 4 a.m., when the men came into the house. My brother and I were lying in the living room. When my sister Rasha tried to run away, one of the men shot her. My brother Adil was still sleeping when a man shot at him. The man also shot at me, but he didn't hit me. I rolled over on my side and played dead.

 

Ali was the only member of his family to survive. An estimated 20,000 others in Syria have shared the fate of his family, including thousands of children.

 

The stories coming out of Syria are a stain on the conscience of the world. The children of Syria cry out to us. It is time for the world to hear their call.

 

Mr. President,

 

I speak before this Council today not only as the Permanent Representative of the State of Israel, but also as a father. I am very proud that I raised my three children Lior, Tomer and Oren in Jerusalem. Yet, they grew up in a reality where abnormality had become the norm. From infancy, they saw that every school every kindergarten had to be protected by an armed guard. After watching them climb onto the school bus every morning, my wife and I waited with apprehension until they had safely arrived at their destination. With every siren, we felt the same sense of anxiety.

 

Mr. President,

 

For more than a decade, terrorists in Gaza have been deliberately targeting our children with rocket attacks on schools, playgrounds, and densely populated civilian areas.

This month, Israels children started their school year with the all-too-familiar sounds of exploding rockets. Every morning, the parents of Southern Israel wake up not knowing whether their children will spend the day in a classroom or a bomb shelter. This is the life that Israeli families live day-in, day-out.

 

The international community cannot accept this abnormality as a normal way of life. No family, no child should live under these circumstances. Yet, this Council has not yet uttered a word about these attacks. The silence speaks volumes.

 

There is no monopoly on the suffering caused by terrorism. All children in our region suffer. Hamas and other terrorist groups deploy minors as suicide bombers. They use children as human shields. They use Palestinian schools to launch rockets at Israeli schools.

 

Across the Middle East today, terrorists and extremists are poisoning the minds of the next generation, teaching them to hate, vilify, and dehumanize Israelis and Jews. In Gaza, Kindergarten graduations feature plays where five-year old children pretend to be jihadists and suicide bombers.

This hate, anger, and intolerance has exploded across the Middle East over the past week. The deadly attacks and riots outside Embassies across the region show the danger of turning a blind eye to extremism. Those who teach fanaticism today are creating a tinder box that will inevitably ignite tomorrow.

 

The international community has a clear duty to end this culture of incitement. We need education that promotes peace instead of hate, tolerance instead of violence, and mutual understanding instead of martyrdom.

 

Mr. President,

 

The Jewish philosopher Martin Buber said that "youth is the eternal chance for the bliss of humanity".

 

With each new generation, society has the opportunity to start fresh. With each child, we have the chance to plant the seeds for a more prosperous and peaceful future.

 

The United Nations has a duty to plant those seeds to shield children from the poison of hate and protect them wherever they are threatened.

 

Thank you, Mr. President.