December 19, 2017 — New York
AJC praised the Trump Administration for exercising its veto power at the UN Security Council to block a resolution calling on the president to rescind his December 6 announcement recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city. The other 14 members of the council voted in favor.
AJC CEO David Harris, who saluted President Trump’s decision on December 6, today praised U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley for “once again clearly and unequivocally supporting Israel and the U.S.-Israel relationship,” and for calling out “the hypocritical and counter-productive character of the vote” regarding Israel.
“What is troublesome to some people is that the United States had the courage and honesty to recognize a fundamental reality,” Ambassador Haley told the Security Council. “Jerusalem has been the political, cultural, and spiritual homeland of the Jewish people for thousands of years. They have had no other capital city. But the United States’ recognition of the obvious – that Jerusalem is the capital and seat of the modern Israeli government – is too much for some.”
The U.S. last used its veto power six years ago. "The fact that this veto is being done in defense of American sovereignty and in defense of America's role in the Middle East peace process is not a source of embarrassment for us," said Haley. "It should be an embarrassment to the remainder of the Security Council."
“The United States will not be told by any country where we can put our embassy,” said Haley, adding the resolution and council proceedings were "an insult" that "won't be forgotten."
Harris pointed out that such an unbalanced approach to Israel at the UN by too many nations “only further complicates the very cause that most UN member states purport to support, namely, a two-state agreement.”
“If the United Nations’ history in the peace efforts proves anything, it is that talking in New York cannot take the place of face-to-face negotiations between the regional parties. It only sets back the cause of peace, not advance it,” said Haley.
