nikki haley

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Nikki Haley, who has been a face of the Trump administration’s uncompromising support of Israel, is resigning as United States ambassador to the United Nations. The former Republican governor of South Carolina, who has served in the UN post since the beginning of the Trump administration, said she would step down at the end of year.

“She’s done a fantastic job, and we’ve done a fantastic job together,” Trump said on Tuesday. “We’ve solved a lot of problems, and we’re in the process of solving a lot of problems.” Haley responded that the US is now respected again on the world stage.

“They get it when the president says he means business,” she said.

Early on in her tenure, Haley made it clear that she would no longer tolerate anti-Israel bias at the world body. During a March 2017 speech to AIPAC, she declared herself as the UN’s “new sheriff in town” and said that “the days of Israel-bashing are over.”

Statements of appreciation from American Jewish leaders were quick in coming.

“We are very grateful for Ambassador Haley’s outstanding service to the United States of America and its allies, especially Israel,” said Nathan Diament, executive director of public policy for the Orthodox Union. “Ambassador Haley had the courage and good sense to refuse to accept longstanding bias against Israel at the United Nations. Through her decisive actions, she taught the UN and the world right from wrong.”

“We will miss her willingness to stand up for what is right and speak strongly to those who use the United Nations to unfairly attack the United States and other countries,” said OU President Moishe Bane.

“Ambassador Haley’s voice was clear and consistent in championing the causes of human rights and democracy across the globe,” said Agudath Israel of America. “Her strong support of Israel and articulate defense of its security made her a deeply respected figure in the Orthodox Jewish community.”

“From her first days, she was a forceful voice for reforming the international body, articulating US interests, and seeking to end the pervasive and obsessive bias against Israel,” said Chairman Arthur Stark and Executive Vice Chairman/CEO Malcolm Hoenlein of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

“In a time when the legitimacy of the existence of the State of Israel is constantly questioned in UN fora, Ambassador Haley demanded that the UN treat Israel as it would any other nation and she repeatedly took the floor of the UN to denounce the blatant and absurd mistreatment of the world’s only Jewish state.”

Shoshana Bryen, senior director of the Jewish Policy Center, called Haley “a strong, articulate voice for our country, our interests and our allies — not only our ally Israel, but most particularly Israel.”

“In the face of enormous pressure from UN institutions with built-in biases against Israel and the United States, she never lost her composure while never missing an opportunity to stand for what is right,” Bryen said. “While we wish her well in her future endeavors, she will be sorely missed by Americans and others who treasure plain-spoken truth.”

Pastor John Hagee, founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel, said that “Nikki Haley has been an example of a shining city on a hill for the nations of the world to follow. Her uncompromising leadership will be missed by lovers of peace and friends of Israel. She was a voice and not an echo. We are very grateful for her service to America and for her unwavering support of the US-Israel relationship.”

“We appreciate the strong leadership of Ambassador Haley,” said AIPAC spokesperson Marshall Wittmann, “and we thank her for consistently standing up for American interests and our democratic ally Israel.”

During her 2018 address to AIPAC, Haley again received an overwhelmingly positive response, getting numerous standing ovations from the pro-Israel crowd.

“Some people accuse us of favoritism towards Israel,” she said. “There’s nothing wrong with showing favoritism towards an ally; that’s what being an ally is all about. But in all that we’re doing, our approach on Israel is tied to one major idea—the simple concept that Israel must be treated like any other normal country.”

“Nikki Haley showed time and again — in word and deed — to be a passionate, fearless, and unflinching foe of tyrants like Iran’s Ayatollah and terrorists like Hamas and Hezbollah,” said rabbis Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper, dean and founder and associate dean and director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

“No matter the odds or prevailing diplomatic niceties, she was always the truth teller who also stood up for the rights and dignity of the Jewish State of Israel. We wish Ambassador Haley well and hope she will soon return to public service on behalf of the American people and human rights,” the SWC officials concluded.

“Nikki Haley is a great champion of human rights, of UN reform and for a strong US-Israel relationship,” said Daniel S. Mariaschin, executive vice president and CEO of B’nai B’rith International. “She called out the bias against Israel time and again, and spoke directly about the hypocrisy and politicization that pervades the organization. A steadfast friend of our community and of Israel, we hope we’ll continue to hear her voice on the many issues she has championed.”

Michael Makovsky, president and CEO of JINSA, said Haley “quickly became a rock star, strongly advocating for US positions on all matters in the UN, including championing Israel and consistently defending it from the constant barrage of hypocritical attacks in that body, and as well as highlighting Iran’s many transgressions. Americans owe Amb. Haley our deepest gratitude, and welcome her return to public service at some date.“

Even the New York Times, in its lead editorial on Wednesday, headlined, “Nikki Haley Will Be Missed.”

“Many United Nations diplomats valued Ms. Haley as a pragmatic envoy who could explain the president to a world confused by the chaos in Washington,” the Times opined. 

During her time at the United Nations, Haley presided over the US pullout of UNESCO and the Human Rights Council, citing their bias against Israel as the reason.

Additionally, the United States also announced that it would end funding to UNRWA, the UN agency that handles Palestinian refugees, accusing the organization of corruption and perpetuating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.