Former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley left her post this week, but not without taking one more shot at the body's anti-Israel bias. Haley was proud to announce Tuesday that the U.S. was formally withdrawing from UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
UNESCO is among the most corrupt and politically biased UN agencies. Today the U.S. withdrawal from this cesspool became official. #USStrong??????
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) January 2, 2019
Israel joined the U.S. in saying goodbye to the agency, a decision Israeli U.N. envoy Danny Danon couldn't have been happier about. He recently described how UNESCO lost its way.
"UNESCO is a body that continually rewrites history, including by erasing the Jewish connection to Jerusalem," he said.
It "has become a tool manipulated by Israel’s enemies,” Danon added.
A few of UNESCO's blights against Israel include its condemnation of Israel’s occupation of east Jerusalem, their naming ancient Jewish sites as Palestinian heritage sites and granting full membership to Palestine in 2011. The U.S. and Israel stopped paying dues to the agency after that last move. As more than one outlet has noted, the U.S.'s withdrawal will have a mostly symbolic effect on UNESCO, rather than a financial one.
The larger UN has introduced a number of lopsided anti-Israel resolutions over the past several years. Last year, when the majority of member nations condemned President Trump's decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Haley stared them down and told them the U.S. would be "taking names."
It's no surprise, then, why Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will miss Haley's friendship on the international stage.
Thank you Amb. Haley for standing for the truth and exposing hypocrisy at the UN. Just as the people of Israel are grateful for the rock solid support @POTUS Trump has provided Israel in the Oval Office, we are grateful for the rock solid support you’ve provided Israel at the UN. pic.twitter.com/RFQ7u3lOvI
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) October 9, 2018
Haley's name was trending on Twitter for another reason Tuesday. It appears her account had been wiped clean per State Department rules, so she had to start a whole new account with 0 followers. She asked friends to refollow her and she is already again over 200K.
As for her first act upon returning to private life, it could not have been more practical.
My first official act as a private citizen after 8 years in public service....downloaded @Uber!
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) January 2, 2019