Israel Cheers Nikki Haley Appointment as US Ambassador to UN

South Carolina Governor Seen as Anti-Iran, Pro-Israel

President-elect Donald Trump surprised many today with the selection of Gov. Nikki Haley as his Ambassador to the United Nations. Trump praised her ability to bring people together, but many reports noted her scant foreign policy experience.

One nation that was quick to endorse the move was Israel, with Ambassador Danny Danon cheering her as a “true friend of Israel” because of her support for a South Carolina state law which forbade public bodies from entering contracts with anyone engaged in the BDS movement.

Beyond that, Haley has made very few public comments on foreign policy ever, though she did say back in January that a Republican president “would make international agreements that were celebrated in Israel and protested in Iran.”

In last year’s State of the State address, Haley also attacked the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran, falsely claiming it permitted Iran to make nuclear weapons and that the easing of international sanctions opened a “pathway” to such weapons.

While a US Ambassador to the UN occasionally issues a statement condemning the UN General Assembly for criticizing Israeli settlement expansion or some such, the job is generally speaking focused on dealing with the rest of the permanent members of the security council. Dealing with Russia in particular will be a focus, though given Haley’s lack of public statements on the matter it’s impossible to predict what direction she will take on that matter.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.