ACTIVISM

Andrés Roemer

Diplomat and academic

In 2016, Mexican diplomat Andrés Roemer was fired from his position as Ambassador to UNESCO – the UN’s global cultural agency – because of his refusal to vote in favor of a resolution that denied the historic connection between the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem. Roemer, who is Jewish, said at the time that the Mexican government had questioned his motives because of his religion, rather than his determination to oppose what he called a “crime against reason.” But Roemer’s courage was not forgotten in Israel, where a street in the city of Ramat Gan has now been named after him. “I have no words to describe this honor,” he said. “I’ve been crying from all the emotion.” (Photo: Wikimedia / Creative Commons License)