TEL AVIV – Israel issued an appeal this week to U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley asking her to help nullify the anti-Israel Security Council resolution that was passed in the final days of Obama’s presidency and defines the Western Wall and the Temple Mount as “occupied Palestinian territory.”
In a dramatic departure from decades of U.S. policy, former president Barack Obama chose not to use the U.S.’s veto on the contentious resolution, which calls settlements – as well as Israeli control of eastern Jerusalem, which includes the Old City of Jerusalem, home of Judaism’s holiest sites – a “flagrant violation of international law and a major obstacle” to peace.
Nullifying the resolution was one of a series of requests made by the Foreign Ministry to Haley, who is viewed by Israel as one of its only supporters at the United Nations.
The Foreign Ministry also requested that the number of sessions devoted to Israel be reduced. At present the Security Council holds one session on Israel per month, which far outweighs debates on other countries, including serial human rights violators such as Iran and Syria. The quarterly sessions on the Middle East invariably “focus on Israel-Palestine.”
In March, Haley defended the Jewish state against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which she called a modern incarnation of an “ancient hatred.”
“Know that the United States has Israel’s back, and know that you now have a fighter and a friend in the UN to help you,” Haley said.
Haley reassured Israel supporters that they shouldn’t worry because “there is a new sheriff in town.”
“The days of Israel bashing are over,” she said.