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Gilad Menashe Erdan ( ; born 30 September 1970) is an Israelis politician and diplomat who served as Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations from 2020 through 2024.
Erdan previously served as Ambassador of Israel to the United States. He was also a member of the Knesset for Likud from 2003 to 2020, and holder of several ministerial positions, including Minister of Environmental Protection (2009–2013), Communications (2013–2014), Home Front Defense (2013–2014), Interior (2014–2015), Minister of Public Security (2015–2020), Minister of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy (2015–2020) and Minister of Regional Cooperation (2020).
Serving as Member of Knesset, Erdan has supported boosting ties between Israel and Evangelicalism, as well as presenting bills to enforce no-smoking laws, Knesset panel to discuss 'red cards' for smokers The Jerusalem Post, 26 February 2007 permanently revoking the driving licenses of serial traffic offenders, MK proposes permanently revoking licenses of serial traffic offenders Haaretz, 9 October 2006 and allowing the courts to revoke citizenship for citizens visiting enemy countries or acquiring citizenship from such countries. 'Disloyalty' bill passes first hurdle The Jerusalem Post, 10 January 2007 The latter bill was submitted following Israeli Arab MK Azmi Bishara's visit to Syria, an enemy-state to the state of Israel.
As Minister of Environmental Protection, Erdan introduced the most comprehensive River Restoration program to date, legislated and enforced the protection of beaches and the coastline, increased recycling through a bottling and packaging law, and created the Beer Sheva River Park – an ecological park built on a former garbage dump – where thousands of people enjoy bike paths, walking trails, a lake, sports area, and a botanical garden. He initiated a "pollution has no borders" policy which included reducing Israel's Greenhouse Gas Emissions, increasing water desalination, in an effort to make Israel the world leader in water recycling. He also imposed limitations on the import and export of living monkeys for medical purposes, resulting in the closure of the "Mazor Farm", a disputed monkey-breeding farm.
In May 2009, Erdan was declared "man of the decade" by Or Yarok, a prominent road safety NGO in Israel, for his lasting efforts to reduce traffic accidents and fatalities.
In November 2014, Erdan was appointed minister of interior following Gideon Sa'ar's resignation.
As the Minister of Public Security, Erdan was in charge of the Israel Police, Prison Service and the Fire & Rescue Services. As Minister of Strategic Affairs and Public Diplomacy, Erdan received the responsibility to coordinate the national response to the attempts to delegitimize the State of Israel, and spearhead the fight against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel.
Upon entering his role, the state of Israel started facing a new wave of Palestinian terror attacks, carried out mainly by incited individuals, and commonly referred to as the "Knife Intifada". Erdan's plan to deal with this new wave of terror, consisted of several steps: strengthening police presence in Jerusalem, which became a symbol for terrorists; outlawing Muslim organizations who incited against Jews and harassed them on the Temple Mount; and dealing with online incitement. In addition, Erdan initiated the construction and opening of new police stations in East Jerusalem, signaling to the residents of its neighborhoods that the state of Israel will not give up its sovereignty in these areas.
In his attempts to deal with online incitement against Israelis and Jews by Palestinians, which often could lead to terror attacks, Erdan and his colleague, Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked, proposed the so-called Facebook bill that will enable Israeli courts to issue against social media companies like Facebook, Google or Twitter to remove public content deemed to be a threat to national security, public security, or a violation of the law, in case the social media company failed to detect and remove the content on its own. The bill has been criticized for allegedly limiting free speech online. However, following the submission of the bill, a senior delegation from Facebook arrived in Israel to meet with Erdan, agreeing to work together in order to improve the detection and removal of inciting material online.
in 2018, Erdan initiated new legislation intended to partially de-criminalize the use of Cannabis for recreational purposes. The reform, which was recommended by a professional committee appointed by Erdan, was called "Responsible Decriminalization", since it didn't go all the way to legalize Cannabis, but instead made private recreational use punishable by fines. The rationale for this move, explained Erdan, was to prevent unnecessary arrests and criminal records on one hand, while retaining deterrence from usage of Cannabis in the public sphere. "The current policy has failed and has not caused a decrease in the use of drugs. Cannabis is a dangerous drug, and there has been a significant increase in its use. ... But the right way to operate is via the path of education, prevention and rehabilitation rather than criminal enforcement against regular citizens."
Minister Erdan also established The Child Online Protection Bureau which created a hotline (#105) and intelligence agency to protect children and teens online. The first of its kind in the world, 105 hotline brought together an interdisciplinary team of experts from the Police, Justice Department, Welfare and Education Ministries. They have been able to successfully identify and prosecute predators, stop bullying, shaming, and online violence.
On 17 May 2020, Erdan was sworn in as Regional Cooperation Minister of Israel in the 35th Government. However, his appointment was short-lived, as he was made Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations and the Israeli ambassador to the United States. Netanyahu Appoints Likud Minister Gilad Erdan as Israel's Ambassador to Both U.S., UN Haaretz, 5 July 2020 The following year, he stepped down as ambassador to the U.S. and was replaced by Mike Herzog, who succeeded him on 15 November 2021.
On 7 June 2022, Erdan was elected to serve as one of the vice-presidents of the General Assembly for its seventy-seventh session as a representative of the Western states.
On 31 October 2023, Erdan, as well as other Israeli delegates, began wearing Yellow badge with the words "Never again" written on them, in response to international criticism of Israel's conduct during the Gaza war. Erdan claimed that the UN Security Council was "silent" about the Hamas-led attack on Israel, and said that he would wear the star "as a symbol of pride". This action was immediately condemned by Yad Vashem chairman Dani Dayan, who called it a "disgrace the victims of the Holocaust as well as the state of Israel," while adding "The slaughter of Jews by Hamas on October 7th was genocidal in its intents and immeasurably brutal in its form. Part of why it differs from the Holocaust is because Jews have today a state and an army. We are not defenseless and at the mercy of others." According to Ynet, unnamed officials from Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs were also highly critical of the decision, with one calling it a "cheap gimmick that doesn't serve our goal", and others describing it as an attempt to appeal to Likud party members.
On 8 December 2023, Erdan thanked the United States for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. He also thanked US president Joe Biden for "standing steadfastly" with Israel.
In December 2023, Erdan accused American investor and philanthropist George Soros of supporting pro-Palestinian organizations "that seek the destruction of the State of Israel as a Jewish state".
On May 10, 2024, the UN General Assembly voted to advance Palestinian membership in the UN. According to Erdan, that was a disregard for the UN charter. Before the vote he illustrated this by running a copy of the UN charter through a paper shredder while giving a speech for the UN General Assembly, referring to the Holocaust, World War II, and Adolf Hitler. Yet the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of asking the Security Council to accept Palestine as a full member.
On June 8, 2024, the UN placed Israel on a blacklist for "parties engaging in violations against children". Erdan leaked Spokesman Stéphane Dujarric's video message notifiying him of the decision, which he decried as "simply outrageous and wrong". Erdan stated that "Israel's army is the most moral in the world" and accused Secretary-General António Guterres of being a terrorist ally with a hatred against Israel.
In August 2024, Erdan was replaced as UN Ambassador by his predecessor Danny Danon.
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