Sa’ar to UN: “No Other Nation Has a Stronger Right to This Land”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar opened a United Nations Security Council session Wednesday night with a declaration of Jewish historical rights, telling the chamber that no nation has a stronger claim to its land than the Jewish people.

"Yesterday, 85 countries stood here and denied the Jewish people's right to live in the same places recognized as belonging to the Jewish national home. The opposite is true: no other nation, in any other place in the world, has a stronger right than our historical and documented right to the land of the Bible."

The remarks came during a Security Council meeting on the Middle East convened under the United Kingdom’s presidency, after British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper criticized Israeli cabinet decisions regarding Judea and Samaria and raised concerns over settlement activity and violence in the area. Sa’ar responded by shifting the debate from contemporary policy disputes to questions of historical legitimacy.

Sa’ar responded by shifting the debate from contemporary policy disputes to historical legitimacy. Holding up a historical map in the chamber, he reminded delegates of Britain’s own commitments a century ago.

"In 1917, the British government published the historic Balfour Declaration to establish a national home for the Jewish people in our land."

He also cited Winston Churchill’s visit to the region in 1921, echoing Churchill’s rhetorical question regarding Jewish national revival.

"Where else could it be but this land, with which for over 3,000 years they have been intimately and profoundly associated?"

Turning directly to the British delegation, Sa’ar invoked the international framework that followed the Balfour Declaration.

"What have you left of the lofty and historical tradition of Balfour and Churchill?"

He rejected arguments that Israelis should not live in Judea and Samaria, framing the issue as a matter of equal rights and moral consistency.

"How can Jews live in London, Paris, or New York, but not in the cradle of our civilization?”

Following the debate, Sa’ar described what he characterized as a pattern of international focus on Jewish presence in the region as a "hypocritical obsession against Jewish presence in the heart of our tiny land." He argued that denying Jewish residence in areas central to Jewish history while accepting Jewish communities across global capitals reflects a double standard.

The session grew sharper when Sa’ar addressed remarks by the Russian representative regarding international law and occupation. Responding to those comments, he said, "I had to restrain myself from laughing out loud."