Israel’s Ambassador to Ghana, Roey Gilad, has explained why his country did not support a recent United Nations resolution on reparations, citing concerns over language that described the transatlantic slave trade as the “gravest” crime against humanity.

Speaking on JoyNews, Ambassador Gilad said Israel’s position was not a denial of the suffering caused by the slave trade, but an objection to what he described as an attempt to rank historical atrocities.

“Our problem with this resolution was exactly that — the gravest,” he said.

“There were quite several crimes against humanity… Who are we to judge which is the gravest and which is less grave?”

He referenced events including the Holocaust, the Armenian genocide, and the Rwandan genocide, arguing that placing such tragedies in a hierarchy is problematic.

Gilad disclosed that Israel, along with countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and members of the European Union, engaged Ghana’s delegation at the United Nations prior to the vote, proposing that the resolution refer to the slave trade as “one of the gravest” crimes instead.

“There is no doubt that had the resolution called the Atlantic slave trade one of the gravest, we had no problem,” he said.

The resolution, which reportedly received strong backing at the UN, forms part of wider global discussions on reparations for slavery and colonial injustices. Ghana has been a leading advocate for the issue at the international level.

Gilad reiterated that Israel recognizes the severity of the transatlantic slave trade but maintains that it cannot support language that ranks human suffering.

“We believe that making a hierarchy and saying which was greater than the other is a mistake,” he added.