Thursday July 4, 2019

I've Been Thinking:

Former Miss Iraq Sarah Idan and former Miss Israel Adar Gandelsman are friends. Their relationship began in 2017 at the Miss Universe competition.

Ms. Idan posted a picture of herself with Ms. Gandelsman and wrote: "Peace and Love from Miss Iraq and Miss Israel." Yesterday Idan was at the United Nations Human Rights Commission speaking about anti-Semitism in the Arab world and about the hatred towards Israel that is taught in the Arab world.

In 2018 Sarah Idan visited Israel.

While in Israel Idan said: "The issue between Arabs and Israelis goes beyond policy disagreements. It's deeply rooted in the belief systems taught in Muslim countries, which are anti-Semitic."

Yesterday, at the UN she said: "Two years ago, I represented Iraq at Miss Universe. I posted a photo with Miss Israel on social media. I was told to remove it and forced to denounce Israeli policies. I received death threats. Since then, I can no longer return to my homeland," she further recalled in Geneva,

While in Geneva, home of the UN Human Rights Commission, Idan made a point of mentioning that the Iraqi government did not condemn the threats, nor did they protect her freedom of expression.

She also spoke out denouncing Hamas:
"When I watched the news last month, why did they never report that the Hamas terrorist organization fired nearly 700 rockets at Israeli civilians in one weekend or that Hamas used Palestinians in Gaza as human shields? Why do they never condemn Hamas for initiating the attacks? Instead, they only show those killed by the response, in self-defense, and blame Israel."

Idan concluded her remarks by saying:
"For advocating peace, I'm called a traitor ... negotiating peace for both states isn't betraying the Arab cause but a vital step to end conflict and suffering for all. Thank you."

Thank you, Sarah Idan. The world needs more spokespeople with your courage and commitment to righting wrongs.

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