CBNNews.com - NEW YORK CITY - United Nations General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann chose not to attend the UN's International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Tuesday.

American Jewish leaders attending the event threatened to walk out of the ceremony if Brockmann used the occasion for Israel-bashing.

The UN president has earned a reputation for his frequent anti-Israel remarks from the podium, such as calling Israel an apartheid state.

Earlier this year, Brockmann attempted to ban the Israeli envoy from speaking at the 60th anniversary marking the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Israeli Ambassador Professor Gabriella Shalev warned that she would not tolerate anti-Israel rhetoric, especially on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

During her remarks, Shalev said the world must not "remain silent" about the Nazi genocide of six million Jews.

"To remain silent and indifferent to the horrors of the Holocaust is probably the greatest sin of all, let alone denying it," Shalev said.

"We have a responsibility to act against the forces of anti-Semitism, bigotry and racism in any form," she said.

Source: Haaretz