Netanyahu Thanks Haley for Fighting UN ‘Hypocrisy’

After the US ambassador to the UN announced today she is resigning her post, Israel’s prime minister expressed gratitude for her commitment to “truth and justice.”

By: AP and United with Israel Staff

U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley is resigning, she and President Donald Trump announced Tuesday, just weeks before the November midterm elections.

“I have given everything I’ve got these last eight years,” she said, referring to her six years as South Carolina governor as well as her time at the U.N. “And I do think it’s good to rotate in other people who can put that same energy and power into it.”

During her time at the anti-Israel leaning international body, Haley has remained a staunch supporter of the Jewish state and an ally to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

In response to the news of Haley’s resignation, Netanyahu issued a statement expressing gratitude for her service and the positions she staked out.

“I thank Ambassador Nikki Haley for leading an uncompromising struggle against the hypocrisy at the UN and on behalf of the truth and justice of our country. Best of luck,” said the prime minister in a statement.

Just last month, Haley commented on the Trump administration’s decision to shutter the Palestinians’ Washington headquarters, “All they’ve done is have their hand out asking for money, [and] badmouth[ing]” the US.

She made the comments during an interview with Fox News, wondering, “[The Palestinians have] not come to the table on the peace deal — why would we have a PLO office? Why would we continue to fund the Palestinians?”

Hard Work on Tough Issues

After the announcement on Tuesday, Trump recounted Haley’s work on tough issues, such as Iran and North Korea. Trump said Haley first discussed leaving the administration with him six months ago.

Haley, 46, was appointed to the U.N. post in November 2016 and last month coordinated Trump’s second trip to the United Nations, including his first time chairing the Security Council.

A rookie to international politics, the former South Carolina governor was an unusual pick for to be U.N. envoy. At the U.N., she helped spearhead the administration’s efforts to combat anti-American and anti-Israel actions by the international body, and to address U.S. tension with its European allies and with Iran and North Korea.

“It was a blessing to go into the U.N. every day with body armor,” Haley said, saying her job was to defend America on the world stage.

Trump said he was considering many candidates for Haley’s job and that a successor would be named in two to three weeks — or maybe sooner.

Policy, Principles, and Pride

Last month Haley wrote an op-ed article in The Washington Post discussing her policy disagreements but also her pride in working for Trump. It came in response to an anonymous essay in The New York Times by a senior administration official that alleged there to be a secret “resistance” effort from the right in Trump’s administration.

“I proudly serve in this administration, and I enthusiastically support most of its decisions and the direction it is taking the country,” Haley wrote. “But I don’t agree with the president on everything.”

The daughter of Indian immigrants, Haley developed a national reputation as a racial conciliator who led the charge to bring down the Confederate flag at the Statehouse and helped guide the state through one of its darkest moments, the massacre at a black church.

South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally tweeted that Haley “has a very bright future and will be a key player in both the future of the Republican Party and our nation as a whole for years to come.”