Netanyahu Thanks All 100 Senators for ‘Standing Up For Israel At UN’

TEL AVIV – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday thanked the U.S. Senate for “standing up for Israel at the UN” after all 100 senators signed a letter to United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres Thursday calling for an end to the “unacceptable” anti-Israel bias at the international body.

“I thank all 100 US senators for standing up for Israel at the UN. #keepit100,” Netanyahu tweeted.

I thank all 100 US senators for standing up for Israel at the UN. #keepit100

— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) April 28, 2017

“Once again, America has stood strongly by Israel, and stood up for truth and justice,” Danon said in a statement. “It is time to finally put an end to the UN’s biased approach towards Israel.”

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman also praised the letter, writing on his Facebook page, “The senators’ letter is another proof of the deep friendship between the United States and Israel and the shared values of the two countries. The senators are worthy of every appreciation for their firm stance. It is time for the United Nations and its institutions to stop the onslaught of hypocrisy and the bias against the State of Israel.”

In the strongly-worded letter, the senators called for Guterres to “engage member states in a comprehensive effort to directly confront and root out” anti-Israel bias at the international organization and see that “Israel is treated neither better nor worse than any other UN member in good standing.”

“Although, as Republicans and Democrats, we disagree on many issues, we are united in our desire to see the United Nations improve its treatment of Israel and to eliminate anti-Semitism in all its forms,” the letter said.

“As both the UN’s principal founding member and its largest contributor, the United States should insist on reform,” the letter added. “We are deeply committed to international leadership and to advancing respect for human rights. But continued targeting of Israel by the UN Human Rights Council and other UN entities is unacceptable.”

The letter, authored by Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), called for concrete steps including the removal of Agenda Item 7, which mandates that the UNHRC debate alleged Israeli human rights abuses at every session.

The senator’s letter also praised U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley for her efforts towards combating anti-Israel bias.