A public confrontation between Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon and Vanessa Fraser, the Secretary-General’s representative for children and armed conflict, escalated after Fraser was seen interacting on X with an account that spread antisemitic material, including an image of the Israeli flag with a swastika in the center. Danon said the exchange proved that someone who tolerates antisemitism cannot claim to defend human rights, adding, “The mask has been removed.”
The dispute began Friday at a UN event marking the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. Fraser, who helped produce the UN’s annual report that placed Israel on its blacklist on children and armed conflict, tried to interrupt Danon’s speech. He shot back, “Be quiet because I am speaking now. You spoke, now I am speaking. Shame on you. You are part of the harassment of Israel. Shame on you. You can leave.”
Danon’s criticism followed his earlier demand that Pramila Patten, the Secretary-General’s representative on sexual violence in conflict, resign. The backdrop is the UN decision to add Israeli bodies to a blacklist of countries and terror organizations accused of sexual violence in conflict zones, which Israel says was made because Hamas was included and after heavy pressure on UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Over the past year, Israeli officials said Danon and his team met several times with Fraser and her staff, submitted documents and detailed responses to all claims in reports and draft versions, and even invited UN personnel to visit and examine the allegations firsthand. Despite that, they said Guterres pushed through what Israel views as a political decision. In response, Israel froze ties with Guterres’s office, canceled Patten’s planned visit to Israel, and said it would not maintain contact with the Secretary-General’s office while Guterres remains in charge.
