Nikki Haley: “The UN’s anti-Israel bias that is long overdue for change.”

The first thing I want to do is talk about what we just saw in there. The Security Council just finished its regular monthly meeting on Middle East issues. It’s the first meeting like that that I’ve attended, and I have to say it was a bit strange. The Security Council is supposed to discuss how to maintain international peace and security. But at our meeting on the Middle East, the discussion was not about Hizballah’s illegal build-up of rockets in Lebanon. It was not about the money and weapons Iran provides to terrorists. It was not about how we defeat ISIS. It was not about how we hold Bashar al-Assad accountable for the slaughter of hundreds and thousands of civilians. No, instead, the meeting focused on criticizing Israel, the one true democracy in the Middle East. I am new around here, but I understand that’s how the Council has operated, month after month, for decades.

I’m here to say the United States will not turn a blind eye to this anymore. I am here to underscore the ironclad support of the United States for Israel. I’m here to emphasize the United States is determined to stand up to the UN’s anti-Israel bias. We will never repeat the terrible mistake of Resolution 2334 and allow one-sided Security Council resolutions to condemn Israel. Instead, we will push for action on the real threats we face in the Middle East.

We stand for peace. We support a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that is negotiated directly between the two parties, as President Trump reiterated in his meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday. The outrageously biased resolutions from the Security Council and the General Assembly only make peace harder to attain by discouraging one of the parties from going to the negotiating table.

Incredibly, the UN Department of Political Affairs has an entire division devoted to Palestinian affairs. Imagine that. There is no division devoted to illegal missile launches from North Korea. There is no division devoted to the world’s number one state-sponsor of terror, Iran. The prejudiced approach to Israeli-Palestinian issues does the peace process no favors. And it bears no relationship to the reality of the world around us.

The double standards are breathtaking. Just a few days ago, the United States sought unsuccessfully to have the Security Council condemn a terrorist attack to Israel, where the terrorist opened fire on people waiting for a bus and then stabbed others. The Security Council would not hesitate to condemn an attack like that in any other country. But not for Israel. The statement was blocked. And that’s downright shameful.

Israel exists in a region where others call for its complete destruction and in a world where anti-Semitism is on the rise. These are threats that we should discuss at the United Nations as we continue working toward a comprehensive agreement that would end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

But outside of the UN, there is some good news. Israel’s place in the world is changing. Israel is building up new diplomatic relationships. More and more countries recognize how much Israel contributes to the world. They are recognizing that Israel is a beacon of stability in a troubled region, and that Israel is at the forefront of innovation, entrepreneurship, and technological discovery.

It is the UN’s anti-Israel bias that is long overdue for change. The United States will not hesitate to speak out against these biases in defense of our friend and ally, Israel.

I will say that I think we saw maybe a slightly different tone in the meeting, but we will have to see how it goes.

Thank you.

Transcription provided by UN Watch

Trump and the Ayatollah: Who Will Flinch First?

There is less than 60 days until Donald Trump becomes the 45th President of the United States of America and the Ayatollah has already threatened the United States with retaliation due to the House of Representatives renewing the Iran Sanctions Act for 10 years.  Given the fact that this act was not actually part of the final agreement between the Obama Administration and Iran, it is hard to understand why the Ayatollah is so bent out of shape.

To understand why Iran is already making threatening gestures one must look into how far-reaching the shift will be in America’s foreign policy after Jan. 20th.  Let’s assume for a second that the worst happens and Mitt Romney is selected as Secretary of State.  Even Romney is fully opposed to the Iran deal and believes America should take down the Ayatollahs.  It’s true that Romney is equally antagonistic towards Russia, but isolating the Iran policy by itself and considering this is the best they can hope for, the Persian predicament is still pretty bad.  Now let’s assume Trump goes with a Bolton or Rudy Gulliani, then Iran will be looking down the barrel of a gun.

Given Donald Trump’s view of the world, where Russia becomes a force to be dealt with directly then the bad actor is none other than Iran, exactly the way it is now. For the Donald everyone else is rightfully just trying to do the best for their country (save for Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and a few others) and so in a simple, but realistic way those countries that cannot abide by any deal are bad actors meant to be isolated.

Iran is ratcheting up the pressure now in order to make it clear to the new President that it must be taken seriously and all agreements be adhered to. With General Flynn acting as Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser, Nikki Haley now the Ambassador to be at the UN, and a Secretary of State that would love to see a hard-line drawn on the Mullah’s, Iran has little chance to convince Donald Trump to back down.

The only question is, what will Iran do when there is no deal to hold them to?

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