After the Obama Administration betrayed Israel at the UN, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reevaluating Israel's ties to an institution which has maligned it for so long. Bibi has given Israel's Foreign Ministry a month to report back to him about its future with the UN.
I have long thought that Israel should withdraw from the UN. About a decade ago, I spoke with Dore Gold, the former Israeli Ambassador to the UN and asked him that very question. He told me that Israel was better of staying in the UN because it could work around it. While I am inclined to think Israel's Foreign Ministry will retain that position a case could be made that drastic measures are warranted given that the UN has effectively deemed all of Israel to be occupied territory.
Of course if Israel does leave the UN, not much will change. The UN will still condemn it.
But what if the incoming Trump Administration were to announce it was re-evaluating its ties to the UN? After all, Trump did tweet following the vote, "As to the U.N., things will be different after Jan 20th." Threatening to leave the UN would certainly be something different. In which case, it will be interesting to see how Trump's UN Ambassador Nikki Haley fits into the grand scheme of things.
I don't think the U.S. will leave the UN anymore than Israel will. But it's a negotiating position and this would force the UN to the bargaining table. Once there, Trump would be in a position to tell the UN to ease off on Israel or bye-bye UN.
The last thing UN diplomats want is to leave the creature comforts of New York City. Who wants the UN headquartered in Moscow or Beijing?
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