Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley enthralled a sold-out audience of 1,200 at Montreal’s historic Shaar Hashomayim synagogue last week, in a discussion of her views on the UN, Israel and human rights that was moderated by UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer.
Haley on UN Watch: “Please help me give the biggest thank you to Hillel, because let me tell you, you want to look at courage—that is courage. He fights every day. Every day. If you aren’t following what he does with UN Watch, go find it. Go watch him. Because I’m cheering for you every day. You’re fighting the good fight, and we need you to keep your energy up and keep going, and if anything starts to go wrong, I’ve got your back.”
Vetoing UN condemnation of U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem: “That was one of my proudest moments. I felt like I was fighting for the truth and for what was right. And I was mad. Every country has the sovereign right to put their embassy wherever they choose. The U.S. always chooses to have its embassy in the capital. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. The rest of the world can’t hide what we know as fact. The President had great courage to do it.”
UN’s anti-Israeli bigotry: “What I saw at the Security Council reminded me of what it felt like to be bullied when I was a kid. I have no patience for bullies. They were kicking Israel just because—without facts. For me, it was disgusting… So I started talking about other issues going on in the Middle East, and then eventually Israel-bashing changed. Ambassadors got embarassed after getting called out. Over time, it started to stop, but I think we have a long way to go.”
Speaking Truth: “My mom taught me to tell the truth. We also have to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves. You can do it, too. If you see something, say something. If there’s someone suffering, do something about it.”
Reasons for anti-Israel votes: “The Arab countries have a lot of oil and a lot of money, and they started picking up all these other countries to vote with them. If you actually go into the quiet corners of the UN, most countries don’t hate Israel, most envy Israel.”
Obama’s role in UN Resolution 2334: “It was terrible… the U.S. led that resolution. Other countries actually didn’t want to do it. It was the U.S.’s saddest hour. I vowed that would never happen again under my watch. If you don’t have the backs of your friends, why would anybody trust you?”
On Israel today: “Israel has earned the right to stand on its own and call people out, because it’s a good, strong country that I truly look at as a beacon of light in a neighborhood that has a lot of problems.”
