Haley: It’s a new day at the UN

Ambassador Haley says she has seen changes in the UN, including an improvement in the attitude toward Israel.

By Elad Benari, INN

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, on Sunday said that Washington had noticed a change in the global body’s attitude towards Israel since she took office.

Speaking in an interview with CNN, Haley was asked whether President Donald Trump would stick by his America-first message when he appears before the UN General Assembly this week.

“Well, I think you have to look at the fact that what he said at the time was accurate. I mean, I think we saw a United Nations where the United States was giving over 25 percent of the funding and was being utterly disrespected and a United Nations that was bashing Israel every chance they get, a United Nations that talked a lot, but didn’t have a lot of action,” she replied.

“And now we can say, it is a new day at the UN. What you are now seeing is the Israel — the Israel-bashing has become more balanced. You’ve got a United Nations that’s action-orientated,” continued Haley.

“I think that the pleas that he made in terms of trying to see change at the United Nations have been heard. And I think what we’ll do is see him respond to that come on Tuesday,” she added.

Since she began her term in office, Haley has continuously blasted the organization for its anti-Israel bias.

She has previously blasted an anti-Israel report released by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which offered to “advise and support” efforts to create a “blacklist” database of companies operating in Judea, Samaria, the Golan Heights, and eastern Jerusalem.

Haley said the report “reeks of anti-Israel bias” and added, “Not only does it undermine the credibility of the Human Rights Council on human rights issues, but it once again highlights the unfair bias of the UN when it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”

In July, she heavily criticized a UNESCO resolution declaring the Old City of Hevron to be an “endangered Palestinian heritage site.”

Haley said the resolution was an “affront to history” and “further discredits an already highly questionable UN agency.”

Trump has been similarly critical of the UN, saying that the global body causes problems instead of solving them. Those comments were made after the Security Council passed the anti-Israel Resolution 2334.

In addition to a change in its attitude towards Israel, Haley on Sunday also cited the UN’s passing of sanctions on North Korea and its agreement to some reforms.

“We’ve passed two resolutions on North Korea just in the last month. And you also have a United Nations that is totally moving towards reform. You have a secretary-general who’s come out with a massive reform package,” she told CNN.

“We said that we needed to get value for our dollar. And what we’re finding is the international community is right there with us in support of reform. So, it is a new day at the UN.”