Whether Israelis will ever comprehend the irreparable damage inflicted on their country’s reputation by their UN ambassador, Danny Danon, is a moot point. The damage Israel has done to itself through its barbaric practices in the Occupied Territories is simply impossible to overcome.
Danon, however, utilizes a peculiar approach to defending Israel within international institutions: he relies on bullying, intimidation and an overt attempt to silence anyone who dares to challenge the official Israeli narrative — particularly female leaders. But what makes his behavior most outrageous is his deployment of these abrasive tactics to suppress an issue that demands the utmost sensitivity: the systemic use of sexual violence and human rights abuses against Palestinians.
A confrontation took place during a UN General Assembly session convened this month to mark International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. Senior UN officials were presenting harrowing findings documenting sexual violence against Palestinian detainees. True to form, Danon refused to engage with the substance of the reports. For Israeli diplomacy, the enemy is never merely the armed adversary; it is the judge, the independent human rights observer and the UN investigator whose sole mandate is to document violations of international law.
The immediate target of Danon’s wrath was Pramila Patten, the UN secretary-general’s special representative on sexual violence in conflict. Instead of reflecting on her grim findings, Danon demanded Patten’s resignation. He accused her and the broader international community of harboring an “obsession” with targeting Israel.
When Vanessa Frazier, the secretary-general’s special representative for children and armed conflict, attempted to intervene on a point of order as per established protocol, Danon unleashed a vitriolic verbal assault. Refusing to yield, he shouted over her, ordering her to “be quiet” and drowning out the chamber with his outbursts. “Shame on you. You are part of this obsession,” Danon bellowed.
While such unruly behavior should have resulted in Danon’s immediate removal from the chamber, the diplomatic asymmetry of the UN prevailed. It was Frazier who found herself trying to de-escalate, politely clarifying that her procedural request was “not personal.” Danon shot back with typical defiance: “You will not be allowed to bully us.”
Herein lies the supreme irony of Israel’s diplomatic relationship with the UN and international law. Israel stands as one of the most egregious, serial violators of international law in modern history — a decades-long pattern of behavior left unpunished by Western vetoes, which have ultimately emboldened it to carry out an ongoing genocide in Gaza. Yet Israeli officials persistently claim the mantle of the ultimate victim, alleging they are a target of antisemitism, bias and now “bullying” by the very institutions they defy.
Israel demands absolute silence while Palestinians are starved, raped and murdered.
Dr. Ramzy Baroud
But the mountain of evidence cannot be shouted away. According to an extensive report issued by Patten’s office, there are verified patterns of systemic abuse, sexual degradation and psychological torture weaponized against Palestinian men, women and children in Israeli detention camps like Sde Teiman.
The weight of this evidence reached such an undeniable threshold that the UN secretary-general’s office formally added Israel to the global “List of Shame” — the blacklist of states committing grave violations against children in armed conflict.
None of this is enough to convince Danon or the broader Israeli political establishment that Israel does not possess a sovereign right to violate international law. In their view, merely pointing out these crimes constitutes an act of aggression.
This systemic denial extends to every facet of the conflict. A comprehensive UN investigation recently concluded that Israel has deliberately targeted Palestinian children in Gaza as a core component of its military campaign. The numbers are staggering: Between Oct. 7, 2023, and Oct. 7, 2025, at least 20,179 Palestinian children were killed — about 30 percent of all Palestinian deaths.
“The evidence shows that Palestinian children have been deliberately targeted and killed by the Israeli security forces,” stated commission chair Srinivasan Muralidhar, noting that Israeli authorities have systematically continued to commit the crime of genocide.
While these findings provide another layer of ironclad legal proof regarding genocidal intent, the true significance of the report lies in its exposure of the rationale behind targeting children. Typically, the disproportionate slaughter of children and women is dismissed by Western apologists as “collateral damage.” The UN inquiry shattered this defense, offering a far more consequential conclusion: the targeting of Gaza’s children is part of a calculated strategy to destroy the biological continuity and future existence of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
As Muralidhar bluntly summarized: “By targeting children, Israel is attacking the very capacity of the Palestinian people to exist.”
It remains a profound disappointment that the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice — often swift to indict war crimes committed elsewhere — continue to move at a glacial pace regarding Israel. Tragically, the catastrophe continues unabated because there is still no meaningful international mechanism willing to enforce sanctions or employ genuine pressure to halt it.
This is precisely why Danon wants the world to be quiet. His outbursts are not merely directed at UN diplomats; they are directed at global civil society, ordinary citizens and anyone refusing to look away. Israel demands absolute silence while Palestinians are starved, raped and murdered. According to its twisted logic, committing these atrocities is its inherent right and objecting to them is an act of malice.
If this logic is allowed to prevail, it becomes the blueprint for every future aggressor who wishes to kill, rape and starve a population for geopolitical gain. Palestinians and Lebanese are already forced to inhabit this dystopian reality. Our collective responsibility is clear: we must refuse to be quiet. We must speak out, ensuring our voices drown out the shouts of Danon and his peers, so that murder and systemic violence are never normalized as tools of military necessity.
• Dr. Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the editor of The Palestine Chronicle. His latest book, “Before the Flood,” was published by Seven Stories Press. His website is ramzybaroud.net.
