Analysis
Jerusalem’s dismay at Nikki Haley's departure is sincere
The US ambassador the UN was an unabashed champion of Israel and her successor is unlikely to replicate her, Anshel Pfeffer writes
October 10, 2018 05:46
2 min read
The US ambassador the UN was an unabashed champion of Israel and her successor is unlikely to replicate her, Anshel Pfeffer writes
October 10, 2018 05:46There was no doubting the sincerity of the outpouring of Israeli love for Nikki Haley, the departing US ambassador to the United Nations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote that she had “shown that with enough strength and determination, real change is possible”.
Even the IDF tweeted its appreciation of the diplomat — and it’s not difficult to understand why.
Since her appointment, Ms Haley has established herself the most eloquent and unabashed champion of Israel’s cause in an international forum traditionally hostile to it.
She was always quick to denounce the UN and its agencies of hypocrisy towards Israel, and to make it clear that Israel’s interests were aligned to those of the nation she represented.
Israeli hearts were thrilled by her methodical evisceration of cherished UN institutions like UNRWA, the agency for Palestinian refugees, and the Human Rights Council.
But there are also other, perhaps less obvious reasons for the Israeli dismay at her departure.
For a start, despite the Trump administration’s pro-Israel policy not changing, there is the recognition that a successor of her calibre and passion in this prominent role is very unlikely.
President Donald Trump promised one would be announced within two or three weeks.
The two main candidates being mentioned are Dina Powell, who served for a short while as a deputy national security advisor in the White House and is close to Mr Trump’s daughter Ivanka Kushner, and current US ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell.
The Egyptian-born Ms Powell was viewed during her short administration stint as one of the less pro-Israel members of the Trump team.
Mr Grenell is not ideologically suspect and even made the unorthodox move — for a serving ambassador — of meeting Mr Netanyahu earlier this year while he was on a short visit to Berlin.
But he lacks Ms Haley’s rhetorical skills and is not expected to be such a compelling performer at the General Assembly, should he get the job.
There was another reason why Ambassador Haley was one of the most popular administration figures to Israelis.
This is a White House where there is no shortage of strenuous supporters of Israel, but few of them are “establishment” figures with a long-term future in national politics beyond the Trump era.
If, as many predict, this president’s term in office ends in disaster, with a landslide defeat in 2020 or even earlier in impeachment, she is seen as one of the few potential survivors with any hope of reuniting the shattered Republican Party and running for the presidency.
There is a deep fear in Jerusalem of a backlash against Israel on that first post-Trump day.
Nikki Haley is seen as a potential bulwark against this backlash, a reassuring symbol of continuity in tempestuous times.
The true motive behind her resignation is still unclear, but if she senses major trouble for the administration and is trying to avoid being implicated, or is preempting a personal scandal as some have speculated, it is bad news for Israelis who hoped to see her looming large in the future of the strategic relationship.
The hope in Jerusalem is that, despite her denials, a Haley 2020 campaign is in the works and she has distanced herself from the inevitable fallout on time.
