Does hailing Haley do an injustice to Samantha Power?
“We had American support in the UN in the past, but the style is different."
By HERB KEINONUpdated: JUNE 8, 2017 16:36US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley meets Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his office in Jerusalem, June 7, 2017(photo credit: MATTY STERN, US EMBASSY TEL AVIV)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Reuven Rivlin heaped praise on US Ambassador Nikki Haley on Wednesday for defending Israel, with Rivlin saying Israel is no longer alone in the UN.That statement implied that for the last few years Israel was alone at the UN, a notion with which former US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power might take umbrage.When asked by The Jerusalem Post if it was fair to say that the US did not defend Israel in the UN under the Obama administration, Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon, who is accompanying Haley on her visit, said that Haley has brought a very different tone on Israel to the world body.UN Ambassador Haley visits Kerem Shalom crossing near Gaza border region June 8, 2017. Credit: Ziv Sokolov/US Embassy Tel AvivFurthermore, he said, the Obama administration’s defense of Israel at the UN was overshadowed by Washington’s enabling of the passage of the harshly anti-settlement Security Council Resolution 2334 in the waning days of president Barack Obama’s term in office.“We had American support in the UN in the past, but the style is different,” Danon said.“In the past, it was quiet; now, it is public; and that is important because many things in the UN have to do with atmospherics. Now things are being done very openly.”Israel, Palestinian ambassadors to UN give speeches before vote on settlement resolutionAnd regarding instances when the Obama administration did come to Israel’s aid in the UN, Danon said: “It is impossible to forget the miserable resolution [Resolution 2334], which has caused the other things to be forgotten. Their support for 2334 overshadowed all their other activity at the UN.”