Interfaith Coalition Unveils 100-Meter Scroll of Palestinian Children's Names at UN
A coalition of interfaith organizations has launched a memorial exhibit at the United Nations headquarters in New York, featuring a 100-meter-long scroll inscribed with the handwritten names of over 20,000 Palestinian children. The exhibit, titled "Scroll of Gaza's Children," opened alongside the 81st UN General Assembly and was organized by pro-Palestinian groups including "Clergy Against Genocide" and "Doctors Against Genocide," in collaboration with representatives from the Palestinian UN mission.
The organizers described the project as an effort to document young victims and prevent them from becoming mere statistics, but the event quickly evolved into a diplomatic and political platform against Israel. Unveiled under the banner "Where is Justice?", the exhibit is part of a campaign planned to tour other U.S. cities, including Washington D.C. and Philadelphia.
Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, led an official delegation and delivered a speech, stating, "In the Gaza Strip alone, a million Palestinian children are still alive. They need food. They need humanitarian aid. They need the withdrawal of all the Israeli army. They need freedom. They need dignity. Palestine must be free." Mansour's remarks were directly aimed at the UN's high-level week agenda, calling for international legal action against Israel and asserting that military actions in Gaza violate international law.
During the ceremony, additional names were added to the scroll, and children's photos and personal items like shoes and keffiyehs were displayed. The event concluded with readings from the Quran and a joint religious service involving leaders from various faiths, including rabbis, who presented the initiative as a "manifestation of human solidarity" and demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Some rabbis wore keffiyehs as prayer shawls.
The organizers intend to permanently display the scroll within the UN headquarters and plan further protest vigils outside Western diplomatic missions in Manhattan. The exhibit's timing and location at the UN's main entrance capitalize on the presence of numerous world leaders and ministers. This event occurs amidst the U.S. State Department's decision to extend sanctions barring senior Palestinian Authority and PLO officials from entering the U.S., preventing Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas from attending the General Assembly in person. He will address the assembly via video for the second consecutive year. The State Department cited continued Palestinian appeals to international legal bodies against Israel and unfulfilled prior commitments as reasons for the sanctions. UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep regret over the U.S. decision, urging Washington to issue visas in accordance with the UN Headquarters Agreement.
