A Voice of Truth at the UN
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein | October 17, 2018
Dear Friend of Israel,
Supporters of Israel know that the United Nations has a long history of animosity toward the Jewish state. They’ve listened for years as the U.N. levels absurd charges against the lone democracy in the Middle East and ignores gross human rights abuses elsewhere around the world.
That’s why Nikki Haley’s recent announcement that she will step down from her position as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. came as such a shock to friends of Israel everywhere. In a governing body that has become synonymous with hypocrisy and cynicism, Haley was a voice of truth and moral clarity. She was not intimidated by the hostility of the nations responsible for promoting the anti-Israel narrative in the U.N.
Last year, Haley mused on a question that must be on the mind of many friends of Israel: Why remain part of an organization that seems so hostile to your very existence? “I remember that Israel has chosen to remain in this institution because it’s important to stand up for yourself,” she said. “Israel must stand up for its own survival as a nation; but it also stands up for the ideals of freedom and human dignity that the United Nations is supposed to be about.”
She was right. The U.N. was founded with a noble purpose, but has strayed far from that purpose. That’s why Haley’s presence there was so welcome. Despite relative inexperience in international affairs, her sure instincts and common sense prevailed. She didn’t put up with bullying of Israel or the U.S., and the result was truly a breath of fresh air in the rooms of the U.N. that have become so stale with cheap anti-Israel, anti-American sentiment.
Nikki Haley armed herself with the truth and stood up to the bullies. In doing so, she reaffirmed the unbreakable alliance between the U.S. and Israel in the strongest and most public way possible. Thank you, Ambassador Haley, for your steadfast and powerful defense of Israel and America, and for acting as an agent of change in an organization sorely in need of it.
My friends, may we all see the day when Israel is welcomed as an equal among the community of nations. And let us pray for the day when God will bless us with His most precious gift of shalom, peace.
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
Founder and President