In a few hours, ambassadors from around the world will step into the U.N. General Assembly and vote on a historic resolution.
“The U.N. General Assembly condemns the rocket fire and incitement to violence by Hamas against the State of Israel,” the proposed resolution will read. The moment they vote, the ambassadors will decide which side of history they are on—the side of a murderous terrorist organization or the truth. Unprecedented activity was behind the vote, the result of which we will know on Thursday evening.
For many weeks, we went from ambassador to ambassador, from small countries and big, because every vote counts and every vote is equal. We told them this was a historic moment.
“Your vote will determine whether you are for or against terror,” I told my fellow ambassadors, “terror from a murderous organization that is holding hostage Israeli civilians, and the bodies of fallen IDF soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin.”
Hamas, having understood the significance of the resolution, has turned to the assembly presidency, begged for help from Iran, enlisted its own enemies in the Palestinian Authority, and has threatened the European Union. It was obvious to all that in its desperation, Hamas was revealing its true face.
Ahead of the vote, we saw early signs of success; we rallied the European Union to the initiative and cultivated a lively discussion in the hallways of the United Nations about Hamas and the Iranian regime, which is orchestrating and funding global terror.
Slowly but surely, numerous countries stopped vacillating and joined the united front spearheaded by Israel and the United States. In the past, the Arabs were automatically embraced by the United Nations. In recent years, however, the attitude towards Israel has changed and the support we enlisted for this proposal is undeniable evidence of this. We showed that an aggressive approach breeds success.
In the spirit of Hanukkah, it is important to thank U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who in recent years has been a light in the darkness of the United Nations. She is a true warrior for Israel, with whom I had the honor to work alongside on behalf of our common cause—strengthening the bond between our two nations.
The result of the vote doesn’t matter, because Israel has already won. When a coalition of countries from across the globe gathers to vote against Hamas, another chapter in the annals of the United Nations will be written.
Danny Danon is Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations.
