UN exhibit: 100-meter cloth with names of 20,000 Palestinian children

A coalition of interfaith organizations launched a memorial exhibit at the UN headquarters church in New York in the form of a 100-meter-long cloth shroud, hand-written with the names of more than 20,000 Palestinian children. The event became a diplomatic and political platform against Israel, with the participation of Palestinian Authority UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour, who delivered a speech. The exhibit was unveiled under the title "Where is Justice," coinciding with the 81st UN General Assembly.

A coalition of interfaith organizations launched a memorial exhibit at the UN headquarters church in New York in the form of a 100-meter-long cloth shroud, hand-written with the names of more than 20,000 Palestinian children. The exhibition opened alongside the 81st UN General Assembly. The exhibit, named "The Shroud of Gaza's Children," was organized by pro-Palestinian groups including "Clergy Against Genocide" and "Doctors Against Genocide," in cooperation with representatives from the Palestinian mission to the UN. The organizers defined the project as an attempt to document the young victims and prevent them from becoming numbers in official records, but the event quickly became a diplomatic and political platform against Israel. The exhibit was unveiled under the title "Where is Justice," as part of a campaign planned to move to additional cities in the US. Palestinian Authority UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour led an official delegation and delivered a speech before diplomats, clergy, and organization representatives. "In the Gaza Strip alone, one million Palestinian children are still alive," Mansour said. "They need food. They need humanitarian aid. They need the withdrawal of the entire Israeli army. They need freedom. They need dignity. Palestine must be free." Mansour's remarks were directed at the agenda of the UN high-level week, aiming to demand legal and international steps against Israel. During the ceremony, additional names were recorded on the cloth, and photos of the children and clothing items were displayed. The event concluded with the recitation of verses from the Quran and a joint religious mass with leaders from different faiths, including rabbis, who presented the move as "an expression of human solidarity" and demanded an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. The timing takes advantage of the arrival of dozens of heads of state and ministers in New York. The event takes place against the backdrop of the US State Department's decision to extend sanctions preventing senior Palestinian Authority and PLO officials from entering US territory, which prevents PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas from personally attending the assembly.