Nikki Haley: No. 1 priority of ‘Deal of the Century’ is Israel’s security
‘When the [PA] realizes that they don’t have the backing they think they have, I think we might see a shift’
By TAMAR URIEL-BEERIFormer US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley spoke at the Israel Center on Addictions event in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art(photo credit: TALI KATZURIN)
The No. 1 priority of the “Deal of the Century” is “the national security of Israel,” former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said Monday in Tel Aviv.“It is a plan that is doable. You deserve peace,” she said at an Israel Center on Addictions event in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. “I can tell you that [White House adviser] Jared Kushner put a lot of time into it. It was very, very thoughtful.”Haley said there is no danger of surrounding Arab countries such as Jordan canceling their peace agreements with Israel.“The reason why I have hope is: Yes, the Palestinians have said they are not going to come to the table... but if the Arab countries don’t run to the Palestinian side, they may see that they don’t have the backing that they had before,” she said. “Watch what the Arab countries do... When the [PA] realizes that they don’t have the backing they think they have, I think we might see a shift.”On Sunday, Haley told Channel 12 the “Deal of the Century” requires “two hands to clap,” referring to the necessary cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians for the peace process to succeed.Haley addressed the ongoing efforts against Israel in the UN, or as she called it, “this obsession over Israel.”“I believe after the 1967 war, they realized they will never be able to defeat Israel on the battlefield,” she said, adding that efforts then turned to defeating Israel diplomatically. “So when they said ‘vote against Israel,’ countries voted against Israel because of the oil.”Haley said she does not believe that other countries, not including the surrounding Arab countries, hate Israel.“Other countries are actually inspired by Israel,” she said. “Once they see the country... their minds get changed.”Haley said helping Israel during her time at the UN often involved simply not speaking about the country.
“I would refuse to talk about Israel... and [other countries] followed suit,” she said. At first, it was “truly amazing” to see countries in the UN continually bash Israel. She said seeing Resolution 2334 on the “Palestinian territories occupied since 1967” pass, as the US abstained, bothered her.“Everyone in the audience stood up and applauded, and there was [Israeli ambassador] Danny [Danon],” Haley said. “Danny was desperately trying to get a hold of the American ambassador to ask what was going on. I told Danny, ‘Under my watch, that will never happen again.’“I think it’s important that we continue to tell the story of Israel, not just about the plight with the Palestinians,” she said. “I think Israel is so much more than the Israeli-Palestinian issue.“They don’t hate you as much as they think,” she said.“It was our sovereign right to put our embassy wherever we wanted,” Haley said regarding the US decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem in 2018. “If Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, which it is,” then that is where the embassy should be.She also addressed the alarming rise in antisemitism globally.“Anytime you see that kind of hate, you have to talk about it more; we have to educate,” Haley said. “I also think that it’s really important that we acknowledge antisemitism for what it is. Antisemitism is just like racism: It’s hate.”“Everything has to stop when it comes to hate,” she said. “We have to really count on our public officials. The Jewish community is a little more reserved when this happens. When they feel uncomfortable, they should say something.”Haley said she, like many Diaspora Jews, felt like she and her Indian immigrant family were just trying to fit into American society.“We weren’t white enough to be white; we weren’t black enough to be black,” she said.Eventually, as Haley studied accounting, she would complain to her mother about “how hard it was to make a dollar and how easy it was for the government to take it.”Earlier during her visit, Haley spoke with IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Aviv Kochavi, the only national representative she met with on this trip, to discuss the Iranian security threat.Regarding the Israel Center on Addictions event, which was the purpose of her visit to Israel, Haley said: “Everyone in this room knows someone that has an addiction, and what’s so important [is that] we start to address this. We always talk about how strong Israel is. You’re only as strong as the help of your people.“Israel is one big family, and you have to take care of each other,” she said.Haley gave some advice about being a woman in power, insisting that the key is pushing through fear.“When you push through fear, you suddenly find out how strong you are on the other side,” she said. “I think it’s very important to always speak truth to power. It’s important that you fight for what you believe in, even if you’re fighting alone. And when that fails, wear some heels.”
