U.S. Senators Protest 'Discrimination Against Israel' at the United Nations

One hundred U.S. senators sent a letter to Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, demanding an end to 'discrimination against Israel.' The sending of such a letter by U.S. senators to the UN Secretary-General is unprecedented, especially as it bears the signatures of all one hundred members of the Senate from both the Republican and Democratic parties. According to reports, the senators wrote in their letter that the decisions and actions of the UN regarding Israel should be the same as for other members of the organization, 'neither better nor worse.' The letter states: 'The continued targeting of Israel in the UN Human Rights Council and other UN bodies is unacceptable.' The senators reminded that the U.S. is the largest financial contributor to the UN, implicitly warning that the U.S. 'will not hesitate to act against the UN.' Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, emphasized in recent days that since the beginning of the Trump administration, the U.S. has been working to change the biased 'discrimination' against Israel at the UN. According to Ms. Haley, the UN should focus on threats posed by Iran and Hezbollah, 'not constantly issue resolutions against Israel.' Last month, Nikki Haley also stated at the AIPAC conference in Washington that 'the era when Israel was the target of automatic UN attacks has ended.' The Israeli Prime Minister has consistently complained that the UN Human Rights Council and other UN bodies have issued dozens of resolutions condemning Israel, 'while the number of UN resolutions regarding the Syrian war and the widespread massacres in that war is very few.' Benjamin Netanyahu has called the UN's behavior in discriminating against Israel 'shameful.' Israel claims that the numerical majority of countries with 'autocratic' governments in the UN Human Rights Council has led to the repeated adoption of 'anti-Israel' resolutions. Concurrently, Donald Trump, the President of the United States, confirmed in an interview with Reuters on Thursday, April 26, that efforts are underway to prepare for his trip to Israel. Israeli media reported that a 25-member delegation of U.S. officials arrived in Israel on Thursday to prepare for Trump's visit. According to these reports, Mr. Trump, accompanied by a delegation of Washington officials and with his wife, daughter, and Jewish son-in-law, will make his first foreign trip to Israel on May 22. Donald Trump himself said in an interview with Reuters to ask him about the transfer of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem next month. Mark Zell, the Republican Party's communications director with Israel, told Israeli media on Thursday that Mr. Trump is likely to announce the transfer of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem during his visit.