February 28, 2017
New U.N. Ambassador Haley Vows to Fight a U.N. Reality No Predecessor Has Confronted: Unrelenting Bias Against Israel
Dear Friend of FLAME:
Like the naïve child in the fairy tale who blurted out that the emperor has no clothes—which scandalized the meek, toadying townspeople—new U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, recently dared to confront an embarrassing reality following one of her first U.N. meetings.
While former South Carolina Governor Haley is anything but naïve, she expressed an indignant disbelief at the unmitigated anti-Israel bias that is a daily fact of life at the U.N.—and, what’s more, vowed to fight against it.
It’s clear from a number of Haley’s courageous comments since she’s assumed her responsibilities, just over a month ago, that Israel will have a steadfast and powerful new friend on the Security Council. How refreshing.
In this short period, Haley has expressed support for moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. She vetoed appointment of a Palestinian politician as U.N. envoy to Libya on the grounds that there’s no state of Palestine (duh!). And she’s expressed her outrage that the U.S. under President Obama allowed passage of the despicable U.N. Security Resolution 2334, which declared Israel’s control over eastern Jerusalem and disputed territories in Judea and Samaria—contiguous with Israel—to be illegal.
FLAME just received word of another happy possibility: The U.S. is considering dropping its membership in the notorious U.N. Human Rights Council, easily the most offensive U.N. body, which spends most of its time, and issues some 80 percent of its resolutions, condemning only one country—Israel.
As with all pronouncements from the Trump administration claiming a new day is coming in U.S.-Israel relations, we’re waiting for them to bear fruit. But Haley’s declarations have carried the force of passionate determination to do right by the Jewish state.
The U.S. still only has one vote in the U.N. Security Council, but from here on out it will be a loud and critical one—no more free passes for anti-Israel bigots.
Rather than excerpt Haley, we’ve reproduced all her brief, but outspoken comments following a meeting of the U.N. Security Council focused on Middle East issues. As you’ll read, this meeting, instead of addressing slaughter in Syria, ballistic missiles in Iran, attacks on Christians in Egypt or ISIS’s bloody deeds in Iraq, focused as usual on criticism of Israel, the region’s only democracy, an exemplar of stability and one of the world’s bravest combatants in the war against Islamist jihad.
Next time you hear friends railing against the Trump administration, mention this account of Haley’s protest on behalf of Israel at the U.N. It provides a clear case of a positive contribution from the new regime. Long live Nikki Haley!
Finally, I hope you’ll also quickly review the P.S. immediately below, which describes FLAME’s current hasbarah campaign to expose five despicable media myths about Israel’s settlements in Judea and Samaria.
Best regards,
Jim Sinkinson
President, Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)
P.S. |
You’ve no doubt often read in the N.Y. Times and other mainstream media of “Israeli settlements on Palestinian land” or “settlements regarded as illegal by the international community.” Yet these objective-sounding phrases represent malicious propaganda—disguised lies told so often that millions of Americans believe them. In order to make Americans—especially college and university students—aware of this media treachery, FLAME has just begun publishing a new position paper: “Israeli Settlements: Obstacle to Peace?” This paid editorial, exposing the five greatest myths about the settlements, is appearing in magazines and newspapers, including college newspapers, with a combined readership of some 10 million people. In addition, it is being sent to every member of the U.S. Congress and President Trump. If you agree that this kind of public relations effort on Israel's behalf is critical, I urge you to support us. Remember: FLAME's powerful ability to influence public opinion—and U.S. support of Israel—comes from individuals like you, one by one. I hope you'll consider giving a donation now, as you're able—with $500, $250, $100, or even $18. (Remember, your donation to FLAME is tax deductible.) To donate online, just go to donate now. Now more than ever we need your support to ensure that the American people and the U.S. Congress end our support of blatantly anti-Semitic, global jihadist organizations.
As of today, more than 15,000 Israel supporters receive the FLAME Hotline at no charge every week. If you’re not yet a subscriber, won’t you join us in receiving these timely updates, so you can more effectively tell the truth about Israel? Just go to free subscription. |
New U.S. Ambassador: Double Standards Against Israel at the U.N. Are ‘Breathtaking’
By Ambassador Nikki Haley, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Remarks at a Press Conference, New York City, February 16, 2017
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.
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.
|
THIS MONTH'S AD APPEARED IN PUBLICATIONS REACHING 10 MILLION READERS
IF YOU SUPPORT PUBLISHING FLAME'S BOLD PR MESSAGES, PLEASE HELP US!!
FLAME is the only organization that defends Israel with paid editorial hasbarah messages placed in media nationwide every month: The dire threats from Iran, Hamas and Hizbollah, the injustice of BDS, Palestinian anti-Semitism and more. If you support a bold voice that tells the truth about Israel in American media, please donate now.
FLAME'S WEEKLY HOTLINE E-NEWSLETTER
FLAME's Hotline e-newsletter keeps you up to date on the most important pro-Israel advocacy issues and features our choice of the week's most informative and thought-provoking article on Israel and the Middle East. If you only subscribe to one pro-Israel news service, make it the FLAME Hotline.
|
|
