Meet Israel’s once and future ambassador to the United Nations, Likud MK Danny Danon

Photo: Flash90

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ut with the old, in with the new. Meet Israel’s once and future ambassador to the United Nations, Likud MK Danny Danon, who replaced leading Likud member Gilad Erdan in the role last month.

As noted, this isn’t Danon’s first stint as Israel’s UN envoy. He first got the assignment in Manhattan’s Turtle Bay neighborhood in 2015 as a consolation prize after being fired as deputy defense minister for challenging Netanyahu’s defense policy.

Despite never having stood out as an orator in Israel, Danon shone on the world stage speaking in English. As ambassador from 2015 to 2020, Danon forged close relationships in the building’s corridors, becoming a well-liked and familiar figure. It sounds surreal now, but he was even elected chair of the UN’s Sixth Committee, which handles legal matters. He spoke with Mishpacha from New York last week.

Has the Big Apple changed? Is it more anti-Semitic than in the past?

It’s not a pleasant feeling to walk the streets of New York and see the [anti-Israel] protesters wandering freely. But I think everyone understands that [America and Israel] are together. The protesters grab all the headlines, but my sense is that the American public is on our side. We strengthen them, they strengthen us. And talking to Americans has reinforced my conviction that we’ll overcome these enemies, just as we’ve overcome other enemies in the past.

You are assuming this role under circumstances very different from those of your last term, with Israel in a crisis both militarily and politically.

The hostility toward us at the UN has always been there, but not at these levels. Most of the discussions here are about issues related to Israel. This place has an obsession with Israel. In one week, there were three votes in the Security Council — all three were about Israel, and not a single one was about Russia and Ukraine, for example. It’s unacceptable, and a gross perversion of justice.

Representing Israel isn’t an easy job anywhere on the globe, much less in the international body most hostile to Israel. And Hamas may not be a member, but Lebanon has an ambassador here just like you. How can you influence proceedings from inside the building, if at all?

I told the Lebanese ambassador openly in a Security Council debate: If you don’t move Hezbollah away from the fence, we’ll do it, and it will hurt. I didn’t get the impression that they internalized what I said — they’re afraid of confronting Hezbollah. We prefer a diplomatic solution, but we’re also preparing for a different solution. That’s my message here as the representative of the State of Israel. We’re looking for peace, but we’re ready for war.

These days, even ambassadors from Sunni bloc nations that normalized ties with Israel are afraid to be seen in public with our representatives. Is there still cooperation behind the scenes with the Emirati ambassador? And is there any contact whatsoever with representatives of enemy countries?

In the past I had very good ties with Arab ambassadors, and I was involved in the Abraham Accords. The channels are still open today, and it’s no secret that our concerns are shared by friendly nations in the region.

In contrast, I don’t exchange a word with declared enemies. And I’m not just talking about the Iranian ambassador, but also about the Palestinian representative, who called IDF soldiers “Nazis.” With people like that, there is no contact and there will be no contact.

You were here in the twilight of the Obama administration, the first time the US abstained from an Security Council resolution condemning Israel. Now it seems like something out of an alternate universe, but at the time, Israel was helped by the veto of Russian president Putin. Now, at least until the inauguration next January, you’ll be dealing with a Democratic administration openly critical of Netanyahu’s policy — and this time Putin isn’t on our side. Are you concerned about what’s coming down the pike at the Security Council?

We have to be vigilant. As you mentioned, I was here in 2016, after Hillary Clinton lost the election, and Obama stood aside for an anti-Israel resolution. That was a tough moment. I hope we don’t reach that situation, but for now, the US is imposing its veto every time and standing by us. I believe and hope that we won’t return to that reality, but we have to be ready for a sensitive period in the months ahead.

How do you as ambassador deal with the constant disagreement between Prime Minister Netanyahu and the defense establishment led by the defense minister? When you stand up to talk about the Philadelphi Corridor, for example, which position do you represent?

Ultimately, I work with the Israeli government, facing accusations and outright libels, such as the report in the last few days that we’re spreading the polio virus in Gaza. When that happens, I turn to Defense Ministry representatives, obtain the data, and present it to the world.

Back home, sadly, we bicker between ourselves, but I have to say that here, people don’t distinguish between right and left, religious or secular, coalition or opposition — they’re against us as Israelis and Jews, period. It’s food for thought: Our enemies see us as one people, it would be wise of us to feel the same way.

And we’re now seeing hostile rhetoric coming from what were once considered pro-Israeli bastions. The bipartisan support for Israel is at severe risk. There are reports in America suggesting that the growing anti-Israel sentiment in the Democratic Party influenced the choice of the vice-presidential nominee.

I think we have to have to be wary of interfering in the US elections and maintain good ties with all sides. I say in every interview to international media — we want a strong America. When Iran sees strength, it’s intimidated. That’s why it’s important that the US have a strong leader who stands by Israel’s side. But Americans have to choose their leader, and that choice is something that we can’t interfere with under any circumstances.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1028)