A video showing Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Gilad Erdan, holding up a poster and then getting handled by security is being shared on social media.
What are the users saying?: Users have shared this video with the claim that it shows Gilad Erdan being removed from the UN General Assembly for the 'Gaza genocide.'
An archive of the post can be found here.
(Source: X/Screenshot)
This post recorded 17.2K views at the time of writing this story. (Archives of similar claims can be found here, here and here.)
Is it true?: While this video does show Gilad Erdan at the UN, it is not recent or related to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
It is from 20 September when he staged a one-person protest by holding up Mahsa Amini's picture during the President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi's speech.
How did we find out?: With a relevant keyword search, we came across a similar video on Gilad Erdan's official X account, where he can be seen holding up the poster. It was posted on 20 September.
We compared some frames of the viral video with one of Erdan's X account and found similarities.
Here is a comparison between the two videos.
(Source: Altered by The Quint)
The ambassador posted the video with the caption that he held Mahsa Amini's poster when the "butcher of Tehran," President Raisi of Iran, started speaking. He ended the caption, stating, "I will never stop fighting for the truth."
We also came across several news reports by Anadolu Ajansı and Microsoft National Broadcasting Company (MSNBC) about the Israeli ambassador being 'removed' from the UNGA for staging a 'one-man protest' against Iran's Raisi.
Anadolu Ajnasi reported on 20 September and stated about the frayed relations between Israel and Iran since the 1979 Iranian revolution.
MSNBC's interview with the ambassador took place on 22 September where they spoke on the issue.
At 0:14 seconds of the interview, the visual of Erdan holding the poster can be seen.
The Wall Street Journal's report dated 20 September showed visuals of Erdan being 'escorted' out of the assembly.
At 22 seconds of the video, the ambassador can be seen with the security.
Who is Mahsa Amini?: Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, died in September 2022 in the custody of the guidance or morality police called Gasht-e-Ershad of the country for not wearing the mandatory hijab.
Her death sparked major protests in worldwide.
Conclusion: It is clear that the video of the ambassador predates the ongoing Israel and Hamas conflict. It is from September when he protested against Iran's president in the UNGA.
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