Haley to evangelicals: ‘New day’ at UN, ‘no free passes’ on blaming Israel

"It is a new day at the UN," she declared, citing a recent vote in the General Assembly that allowed debate on Hamas' culpability for the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

By MICHAEL WILNER
Updated: JULY 25, 2018 03:14
Haley says of Israel, US has 'no moral duty to be neutral' in relation to the Israeli-Gaza conflict, July 23, 2018 (Reuters)
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration will not allow “free passes” on votes in the UN General Assembly or Security Council that disproportionately blame Israel for the plight of Palestinians, Nikki Haley, the US envoy to the UN, said on Monday.
Addressing a gathering of evangelical “Christians United for Israel,” or CUFI, in Washington, Haley said the administration was successfully persuading member states to vote with more caution on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict – a frequent topic of debate at the international body.
“It is a new day at the UN,” she declared, citing a recent vote in the General Assembly that allowed debate on Hamas’s culpability for the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. “From now on, every country knows that the United States will not just block anti-Israel measures, we will shine a light on those who are responsible.
There won’t be any more free passes for those who bully Israel at the UN.”
“Sometimes we are winning at the UN through persuasion,” she added.
Haley said that she and US President Donald Trump were “pushing to draw a closer connection between US foreign aid and whether countries support US interests at the UN” – a policy that has recently cost the Palestinian Authority, which is furious over recent US funding cuts for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
Similarly, she defended Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital – an historic fact, she said, to applause.
Haley received a rapturous welcome from the evangelical Christian crowd, which she said was “critical” to strengthening and defending the Jewish state. The UN ambassador has become a darling of the wider Israel advocacy community and she has frequently given speeches to similarly friendly groups.
“It’s always a great thing when Americans use the power of their voice,” she said. “What’s amazing about Christians United for Israel is not just the power of your voice. It’s also the importance of the cause you have dedicated your voice to. Israel needs friends.”
But she warned that antisemitism across the world was “on the rise,” including in the US itself, where she said there are “troubling signs” of a resurgence in hatred toward Jews.
“We live in a world in which terrorist groups and even some countries openly call for Israel’s destruction,” she said. “Many other countries encourage or turn a blind eye to blatant discrimination against Israel.”
“Even here at home, there are some troubling signs,” she said. “On many college campuses, the antisemitic BDS [boycott, divestment and sanctions] movement has become a trendy cause for students and professors who should know better.
“Standing up against this global pressure campaign on Israel and the Jewish people goes to the heart of our friendship and the heart of America,” she added. “And the tip of the spear is Christians United for Israel.”