I’ve seen antisemitism. I confronted it every day at the United Nations. And I know that the Jew-haters try to hide it by saying they only hate Israel.
All it takes is 24 hours at the UN to realize that anti-Zionism is just a modern name for the ancient evil of antisemitism.
The worst-kept secret at the UN is that antisemitism is operating just beneath the surface. I saw it in my first few days on the job as US ambassador to the UN, after I met with Israel’s ambassador. I broke with precedent, putting Israel ahead of many countries that US ambassadors typically meet with first. For me, it was more important to show my support for Israel, one of America’s closest allies and dearest friends.
The UN's anti-Israel bias, antisemitism, and what it leads to
The broader UN views Israel differently. How could I possibly call Israel a friend? They think Israel is a pariah, different somehow from every other country. But what, exactly, makes the world’s only Jewish state different? When you put the question like that, it answers itself.
No other country is treated like Israel. The UN Security Council had a monthly meeting on “the situation in the Middle East,” which was clearly designed to attack Israel. I refused to go along, using the meeting to discuss the actual situation in the Middle East – Iran’s ambitions, Syria’s brutality, and the evil of ISIS. Yet while I covered real threats and crises, other countries singled out Israel for things it doesn’t do. It’s accused of oppressing Palestinians, despite being the only democracy in the Middle East – one that respects the rights of Arabs, Jews, and anyone else who lives within its borders.
For that matter, Israel is singled out for things that every country does. Only Israel is denounced for choosing its capital. Only Israel is censured for defending itself from rocket attacks and suicide bombers. Apparently, it would be better if Jews let themselves be killed. The double standard clearly indicates something deeper at work – something far more hateful.
THIS VEILED antisemitism continues to this day. Last year, the UN General Assembly passed 15 resolutions condemning democratic Israel. It passed 13 resolutions condemning all other countries combined, in a world that includes murderous tyrannies like North Korea, Communist China, and Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Then there’s the so-called UN Human Rights Council. It has a standing agenda item devoted solely to Israel. No other country gets that kind of treatment. We withdrew the US from the Council because it tolerates and even celebrates antisemitism and blatant human rights abusers. We also pulled out of UNESCO, which denies Jewish heritage, even as it claims to protect diverse cultures. And then there’s UNRWA, which we stopped funding with American taxpayer money. UNRWA teaches Palestinian children to despise the Jews.
Now we know exactly where that leads. October 7, 2023.
Before Hamas’s initial assault was over, anti-Zionists were already trying to justify the killing spree. It was the worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust. Only an antisemite could defend or apologize for such obvious evil.
And it’s now clear that antisemitism, masquerading as anti-Zionism, is far more widespread than most people realized. It’s on college campuses. It’s in major cities across the West. It’s even in parts of the US Congress.
When students, doctors, and elected officials praise Hamas for fighting the “oppressors” and “colonialists,” they’re tacitly saying it’s fine to kill Jews. When they say, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” they’re essentially advocating another Holocaust.
I hope that most people who say these things don’t realize that. But I fear that many know exactly what they’re saying. Israel exists to protect the Jews. That’s why its enemies call for Israel’s destruction.
Now is the time to confront this evil worldview with moral clarity and unapologetic action. We need university presidents who denounce the anti-Zionist charade. We need business executives who refuse to hire people who condone violence against Jews. And yes, we need elected leaders who stand with Israel.
That starts with the president of the United States. We don’t need a leader who promises to fight antisemitism while failing to condemn anti-Zionism, like the current president. We shouldn’t have rejoined the UN Human Rights Council and UNESCO or restarted funding for UNRWA, which happened in the past three years. And under no circumstances should we be silent or timid in the face of antisemites in elected office, like Joe Biden has been with his fellow Democrats. Evil is evil, and it must be called out or else it will spread.
The Jewish people – and the Jewish state – are at greater risk today than at any point in the past 75 years. They need America to lead the fight against antisemitism, in all its forms. It’s time to make clear in federal law that anti-Zionism is antisemitism, pull the tax status of universities and nonprofits that engage in Jew-hatred, and permanently end all taxpayer support for international bodies that stoke this evil.
There should be no doubt that America stands with Israel. We should give Israel everything it needs to defeat those who would destroy it, starting with Hamas.
The stakes are clear. The Jewish state needs to exist because the Jewish people have a right to survive. Two years ago, in the wake of Israel’s last war with Hamas, I traveled to Israel’s border with Gaza. I went to Sderot. I walked through Ashkelon. As I stood outside a home that had been destroyed by terrorist rockets, a woman walked out of the rubble. She started yelling. Then she started running toward me. She threw her arms around me, hugged me, and invited me into the ruins of her home.
She showed me where she was when the rockets hit. She was holding her baby grandson when she was thrown against the wall. I could see the outline of where they hit it. Her hair was embedded in the plaster. It’s a miracle she survived.
Two years later, that woman is still in mortal danger. Her life is threatened by those who hate the Jewish people and the Jewish state. We owe it to her, and so many others, to ensure that evil never wins – no matter what name it goes by.
The writer is running for president of the United States. She was the US ambassador to the United Nations from 2017-2018 and is a former governor of South Carolina.