A Shameful Day Today for Israel at the UN  

Sad to say, but today, Thursday, September 24th is a day of shame for Israel at the United Nations. While earlier this week saw one head of state after another take aim at Israel, accuse us of apartheid, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and lord knows what else, given the world’s seeming fixation on Israel that was all to be expected. But today will be worse.

Prime Minister Netanyahu lands in the US this morning at an undisclosed location but definitely not JFK.  Rumor here is that it will either be at Newark Airport or a US military airfield in the region selected for security reasons.  What a shame that is.  That after 78 years of independence and a record of developmental achievement that is the envy of every other country in the world, our Prime Minister has to “sneak in” to the United States of America for security reasons.

Netanyahu, who met with President Trump more times in this term than any world leader will not get the airport welcome that Trump gave arriving Chinese Premier Xi on Wednesday.  No official welcome at all for the Prime Minister of the only country that fought with the US in its badly managed war with Iran, while the unelected dictatorial head of a mortal enemy of America who actually does practice ethnic cleansing gets red carpet treatment at Joint Base Andrews.  Talk about misplaced values!!

In addition, Netanyahu does not even plan to spend the night in the US.  Again, for security reasons he will speak at the UN at 1400 today Eastern time, and afterwards, return to the airport and fly home.   Once again, the reason is related to security…..effectively saying that the less time he spends in the country that is presumably our greatest ally, the better.   What a shame for Israel that this is the reality with which we are confronted.

As for the speech itself, no doubt he will speak in a hall where most of the member nations will be absent, intent on showing their displeasure less with Israel than with the Prime Minister whom they, and many of us as well, hold responsible for moving Israel into the status of a pariah state. No doubt, the US delegation will remain in the hall as will (probably) Argentina, some South Pacific island countries, a few Somalis and perhaps even the UAE, which still seems to value the relationship between our two countries even under the current regional stresses.   Nevertheless, given the expected walkout of so many delegations the hall will turn into an echo chamber with Netanyahu speaking to the already converted.  Press reports indicate that he intends to make Israel’s case to the world body but, sadly, nobody will be listening.  Again, what a shame for us.

Later today he will return home, presumably taking Amb. Yechiel Leiter with him (if he has not already returned to Israel) to be at his son’s bedside as he battles for survival after having been run down by a Hamas terrorist at an IDF checkpoint in Samaria.   The Prime Minister will sneak out as he snuck in, almost as a thief in the night as the saying goes.

The saddest part of all of this is that the Prime Minister brought all of this on himself. By surrounding himself with, and cow towing to, far right politicians who represent a very small element of the population here, by refusing to appoint a commission of inquiry to determine what went wrong on October 7^th, and by continuing a war with its attendant casualties that could have ended long ago while he simply has remained in office much too long for any serious democracy, he, more than anyone, has caused the world to turn against us.

We will get past this day of shame that is of our own making.  But we will not move into 2027 with hope and promise if we don’t make a leadership change on October 27^th.   The critics are correct that there won’t be massive changes in operations after election day here regardless of who gets elected.   But leadership sets the course.  Therefore, in order to change direction even slightly, the leadership has to change as well.  Hopefully the electorate here will rise to the challenge so we can, once again, take our rightful and well-earned place on the world’s stage.