United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley delivered the keynote address before an audience of thousands at the Christians United for Israel Summit in DC Monday night.
The crowd honored Haley with a standing as she was presented with the Defender of Israel Award.
The award is given each year to one person in America that the organization feels has done the most to defend and protect Israel.
Haley is known as a loud defender of Israel at the United Nations – a place she refers to as the “global epicenter of anti-Semitism.”
“The United Nations is an interesting place. There are times when it can be a force for good,” she said. “The UN can also be an enormously frustrating and bizarre place. Nowhere is that more pronounced than in the truly awful way that the UN has treated Israel for decades”
Despite the United Nation’s repeated attempts to condemn and undermine the Jewish State, Haley says the US is changing that behavior.
“Change comes with leadership and clarity from the United States. That leadership and clarity was on full display when President Trump made the bold and right decision to move the United States embassy to Jerusalem,” she said. “Jerusalem has historically been, is now, and will always be the capital of Israel.”
Haley also took a stand for Israel amidst violent protests on the Gaza border in May. While most of the world condemned the Jewish State for responding to the molotov cocktails and flaming tire attacks, Haley made her voice loud and clear in the United Nations.
“When I heard country after country in the United Nations Security Council critically standing in judgment of Israel, I spoke out. What I said shocked the people at the UN, but I’ll say it again because it’s the truth. Israel has acted with more restraint than just about any country would under those same conditions,” she said.
During that time, Haley vetoed a resolution that condemned Israel and ignored Hamas’ actions on the border.
Now it appears her actions are beginning to pay off as skeptical UN members begin to see the anti-Israel terrorist group Hamas for what it is.
“The idea that we could get the majority of the General Assembly for the first time to even acknowledge that Hamas was an issue is a fantastic win,” she said.
She also pulled the United States out the UN Human Rights Council, a body known for its unbalanced attacks against Israel.
“The Human Rights Council is a farce,” she charged. “What we’ve said is you’ve got serious human rights abuses, whether it’s in Venezuela, whether it’s in Iran where they are protesting their regime, whether it’s in Nicaragua, and they’re doing nothing about it.”
“America will always be the world’s leader in advocating for human rights, but we will not do that in a place that makes a mockery of the very human rights ideals it is supposed to uphold,” she added. “It’s very important to me that we represent truth and reality at the UN, even if it makes other countries uncomfortable.”
Haley doesn’t plan on stopping there or shutting her mouth any time soon.
“Being silent was never something I’ve been good at,” she joked.
Haley also sees a winning team in the support Christians have shown Israel for decades.
“When you look at the anti-Semitism, when you look at all the harassment that they’re getting from around the world, you do feel for them because you know these are good people trying to live a good life that are in a dangerous region, and I think Christians United sees that for what it is,” she said.
Speaking at the CUFI summit Monday evening, Haley told the crowd of Christians and Jews that it is her faith in Christ that has driven her strong support of Israel.
“I am not Jewish, even though that surprises some people. I was not raised as a Christian either. Twenty years ago, my faith journey brought me to Christianity, where I have found strength in my faith and trust in my heart,” she explained.
“But I am also a person who is humble in her faith. I don’t claim to have the wisdom of what God has in store for me or for other people,” Haley continued. “What I do know is that God has blessed America with greatness and with goodness and I know that in the dangerous world we live in, it is absolutely critical for America to stand up and have the backs of our friends.”
Haley summed up her message with a simple phrase: “We stand with Israel.”
–Wire Services