Israel’s once and future ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, channeled his biblical namesake, Daniel, when he came up with the title for his 2022 memoir about his five-year stint as UN ambassador: In the Lion’s Den.
Danon, poised on August 20 to formally become the first Israeli diplomat to serve twice in this capacity, should now update the title to “Back in a More Ferocious Lion’s Den.”
If the UN was inhospitable – a lion’s den – during Danon’s first run there from 2015 to 2020, a relative golden age in terms of Israel’s relationship with the world, it is overtly antagonistic today following 10 months of war in Gaza and along the Lebanese border.
“It is a different UN, and a different situation, than the one I left here four years ago,” Danon – who arrived in New York two weeks ago – said in a phone interview. He said there is “a lot of hostility,” and that some ambassadors with whom he was friendly during his last tour of duty and with whom he met regularly are today taking harsh positions against Israel.
Danon said it would be harder for these ambassadors, whom he would not name, to be seen in public with him or attend functions organized by the Israeli mission at the UN.
“The atmosphere is very hostile. In the past, it was a few ambassadors. Today, unfortunately, we see many countries joining the efforts to isolate us, and our goal is to explain what we are doing, why we are doing it, and maintain the support we have from the countries that understand the challenges we face.”
Israel's enemies are highly motivated in the UN today
Danon said Israel’s enemies in the UN are highly motivated today, while Israel’s allies – exhausted from defending Israel and standing up for it after 10 months of war – are quieter. One of his top priorities is to invest time in the allies, thanking them for their support and explaining why they should continue along this path.
“When I started setting up meetings, it was important to meet with significant players at the UN, but at the same time I made a note to meet those who are friendly to us, who vote for us,” Danon said.
While he would not mention specific names of those friendly countries, he did mention regions, particularly Eastern Europe and the Pacific Islands, as well as the US and the “strong democracies.”
One region he did not mention was Latin America, where he expended a lot of energy during his previous round as ambassador. “In Latin America, things have changed. It is very polarized. We have good friends: Argentina for sure, Paraguay, Ecuador, but at the same time you see a lot of hostility coming from the region, from countries like Venezuela, Colombia, and Brazil.”
Brazil, which the pro-Israel Jair Bolsonaro governed during part of Danon’s first term at the UN, is now governed by the anti-Israel President Lula da Silva.
“Under Bolsonaro, they were very friendly,” he said. “Today, they sometimes take the initiative against us [at the UN], which is very bad.”
He said that Mexico, under its president-elect, Claudia Sheinbaum, who is Jewish, cannot be placed among the countries that stand with Israel or those that are hostile to it.
The hostility of Antonio Guterres
ACCORDING TO Foreign Minister Israel Katz, one world player who is downright hostile to Israel is UN Secretary-General António “October 7 did not happen in a vacuum” Guterres.
In March, Katz posted on X that under Guterres’s leadership, the UN has become “an antisemitic and anti-Israeli body that shelters and emboldens terror.” He went even further in June, writing to the UN secretary-general that “history will judge you for the moral stain that the UN bears under your tenure.”
Asked whether he agrees with these sentiments and this approach, Danon – who will present his credentials to Guterres next week – replied: “One cannot argue with the facts, and the facts are that until today the UN has not been able to condemn October 7. I told one of my colleagues at the UN that in 20 years, when people study what happened on October 7 and see that the UN was unable to put forward a statement condemning the massacre, that will be a stain, something shameful that we cannot ignore.”
Pressed, however, on whether directly attacking Guterres is the right way to approach the issue, Danon – demonstrating his skills at being diplomatic – said: “I think everyone has their way to present matters; most Israelis would agree that we cannot be silent when the UN is silent.”
Regarding whether he will be able to work with Guterres, Danon said: “The UN is a place where you speak with people – I will advocate everywhere I can. When people say, ‘Why do you go to meetings when you know the outcome?’ I say, ‘We have to go to hostile places to present our case and make sure it is being heard.’”
Danon said that the reason for Israel to show up in hostile environments is twofold. First, when Israel is in the room, it is harder for others to present a lie about it or what it is allegedly doing or not doing. Second, and this goes back to the energy he wants to invest in Israel’s allies, it is crucial for these allies to see Israel present on the playing field.
“If you don’t show up but expect them to do everything for you, it will not happen, and it will be much harder for them to stand up for the facts and for the truth. So we have to deal with the UN, demand reform at the UN, but cannot ignore it completely – even if sometimes we would like to, and go back to Ben-Gurion’s phrase about the UN: ‘Oom shmoom’ [the UN, blah].”
Danon said Israel must take the UN seriously, and not dismiss it, because the Palestinians have become tremendously adept at using it to try to turn Israel into a pariah state akin to South Africa’s status under apartheid.
“Look at the language they are using: ‘genocide’ – it is not genocide; ‘starvation’ – there is no starvation; ‘apartheid.’ That is their goal. If we are not here to fight back, it will be easier for them to spread those lies and try to get to a point where countries apply sanctions against Israel – weapons embargoes and many other tools that were used against South Africa.
“That is why it is important to be in the room, to explain to the ambassadors and heads of state whom we are fighting, and why we are fighting, to defend ourselves. I think it is an important fight. It is not easy; you are not going to win overnight. You have to deal with it every morning. You have to fight. The same way we have patrols on the northern and southern borders, we have to deal also with the diplomatic borders.”
DANON IS taking over from outgoing Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations Gilad Erdan at a very active period at the UN.
First, next week, the UN Security Council will begin discussing whether to extend the mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Believe it or not, UNIFIL currently has some 10,000 troops between the Litani River and the border with Israel, and its mandate includes – and this is no joke – assisting the Lebanese Army in ensuring that the area from the border to the Litani River is “free of any armed personnel, assets, and weapons other than those of the government of Lebanon and of UNIFIL deployed in this area.”
Even though UNIFIL has failed miserably in that task, as well as others it has been mandated with, Danon said that Israel does not necessarily want to see the force withdrawn, but, rather, wants it to fulfill its mission. He said Israel intends to submit a few changes to UNIFIL’s mandate.
He denied that the peacekeepers’ presence in south Lebanon makes it difficult for Israel to operate there, since the UNIFIL forces are concentrated in their bases and follow well-defined patrol routes.
In addition to this debate, Danon is preparing for a diplomatic assault on Israel next month during the UN’s annual General Assembly meeting. Even before the General Assembly begins, he said, the Palestinians are putting forth a resolution adopting the recent International Court of Justice’s advisory ruling saying that Israel’s “occupation” of the West Bank and east Jerusalem is “illegal and must end.”
Though this resolution is sure to pass in the UN General Assembly, Danon said that he will concentrate on getting the “moral majority” in the UN to not “be a part of this circus.”
In UN General Assembly votes, Danon said, the question is not about the votes – because the Palestinians have a built-in majority – but, rather, about which countries will vote with Israel or even abstain.
Preparing for an onslaught
EVEN BEFORE he has officially been accredited to the UN, Danon said that he and the Israeli staff at the UN are busy preparing to battle an onslaught in September, when the UN General Assembly’s high-level debate brings the world’s leaders to New York. Among those leaders, Danon said, will be Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who – as is his wont – is planning to address the world body.
“We are preparing the ground for the visit of the prime minister,” said Danon. “I believe he will arrive – we don’t know what will happen tomorrow in Israel – but the plans are that he will come and speak in front of the General Assembly.” He said Netanyahu is scheduled to speak on September 26 or 27.
Danon, who in 2007 and 2014 unsuccessfully challenged Netanyahu for the leadership of the Likud, established a good working relationship with the prime minister during his initial tenure as ambassador. Upon returning to Israel in 2020, Danon reentered Likud politics and secured a seat on the party’s list in the most recent elections. However, he was overlooked by Netanyahu for a ministerial slot when the prime minister established his new government.
“If you asked me when I left the UN in 2020 if I would come back here, I would have said ‘never, not in my lifetime.’ But October 7 changed a lot within all of us. I think now I can do more here fighting for Israel rather than being in the Knesset. I love the Knesset and was very involved in the Subcommittee for Intelligence and Secret Services and the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, but I thought I could be more influential here and bring my skills and connections into action at this time.”
Asked what he would do if elections were called in Israel, meaning whether he would then return to vie for another spot on the Likud list or even challenge for the Likud’s leadership if Netanyahu stepped aside, Danon sounded noncommittal.
“That is a hard question,” he said, “but I will put it this way: I didn’t come [to the UN] for three months or six months. I have a contract for three years. Once we know that we won the war, brought the hostages home, and start to talk about the ‘day after,’ I will be able to think about future ideas, but that is not something in the near future.”