Two Democracies, One Fight

Senator Norm Coleman: It’s a great pleasure to be here with two of our great ambassadors, Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon and the US ambassador to the UN, Mike Waltz, under the auspices of the Jewish Policy Center.

Talk to me about antisemitism. Last year, 2025, was the most deadly year for diaspora Jews in decades. It’s the year the embassy was attacked in Washington. A woman demonstrating about hostages gets murdered in Colorado. We live in challenging times. Kids on college campuses are chanting “From the River to the Sea,” supporting Hezbollah and Hamas. Tell me what’s going on, and tell me how we can deal with it?

Amb. Danon:  Unfortunately, antisemitism is everywhere. We expected that once the war in Gaza was almost over, and we brought back all of the hostages, you would see quiet. But we were wrong. Despite the fact that today it’s relatively quiet in Gaza, we still see antisemitism on the rise everywhere, including here in the United States. We see it coming from the left and from the right, also.

I want to share a story. I got a phone call during the war from Tucker Carlson. He called me. He told me, “Ambassador, can you please take me off the list?” And I was shocked. I asked him, “What are you talking about?” He told me, “I’m being attacked by the Jews. So maybe you have a list. Can you take me off the list?” So I waited for a minute, and I told him, “Mr. Carlson, we don’t have a list. You are being attacked because you’re spreading lies and blood libels against our soldiers.” My son was in Gaza when Carlson called me that day. I told him, you’re spreading antisemitism. You’re hosting antisemites. So you are being attacked.

But when we finished the call, I thought to myself, Norm, maybe we should have a list. Maybe it’s about time we put a list of those who promote antisemitism online, of those who are hosting antisemites on podcasts, and fight back. And I think we have to do it because it’s not going away. It’s going to be with us, and it’s brutal, it’s a war, and we have to stand up and fight it.

Antisemitism at the UN

Sen. Coleman: So, Ambassador Waltz, antisemitism at the UN has just been pervasive. In the Human Rights Council, I think, more thanhalf the resolutions are against Israel. Israel is being attacked more in the Human Rights Council than all the other nations combined. So tell me, how do we counter that?

Amb. Waltz: Just to put a number on that, more resolutions against Israel, 173, compared to 81 of every other country combined, right? So, to back up, though, first, thank you for having us here. Thank you to the Jewish Policy Center for having us. This is an incredibly important conversation to have. And I got to tell you, it’s one thing to complain about it, it’s another thing to call it out for what it is. And there has been, and is, a cesspool of antisemitism [at the United Nations], and under President Trump, there is no more turning a blind eye, period. We are going to use our voice, our vote, our money, and whatever leverage we have. So I won’t elaborate on too much of what you see out there.

But what I do want to tell you is what we’re doing about it. Number one, antisemites who call Israel a stain on humanity, like Francesca Albanese, [UN Special Rapporteur on “the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory”], are now sanctioned. Number two, organizations like UNESCO [United Nations Economic, Social and Cultural Organization], we’ve backed out of. We’re no longer funding. We are going to dismantle UNRWA [UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East], and we are in the process. We are no longer participating in the so-called Human Rights Council which has the likes of China, Cuba, Venezuela, and others on it. Most importantly, on the Security Council, we have vetoed time and time again–six resolutions since Oct. 7, 2023, alone–measures that are only targeted towards our best and most democratic ally in the Middle East, Israel.

So we are using our money, we are using our voice, we are using our vote, and we are going to take this on and fight and block and tackle it at every turn, period. And this is only because of President Donald J. Trump’s leadership. That is just indisputable.

Can the UN be Reformed?

Sen. Coleman: Let me follow up on that. Over 20 years ago, when I was in the Senate, I led the effort at UN reform, including the investigation into the Oil-for-Food scandal. Just a cesspool of[Iraqi leader] Saddam Hussein’s money funding the Russians, the Chinese, and others across the world. That was more than 20 years ago. Can it be done? Is a congressman’s comment about making New York UN-free the only solution, or can reform actually work? I know you’re fighting every day. Can you make it work?

Amb. Waltz: So, a couple of things. One, why don’t we just turn out the lights and walk away? Just be done and walk away. That’s a longer conversation, but I’ll tell you it would then be 192 nations without us, including China, Russia, the EU, and on and on and on. I am a believer—and this is where President Trump is: we need to get in there, fight, and win in these multilateral institutions. And it can be done.

Case in point: this year, we forced the UN to take its first budget cut in its history. It had never been done before. We are slashing. We are defunding. We’re cutting 3,000 bureaucrats out of that building over there on the East River, and 25 percent cut to peacekeepers. And here’s the thing, Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL)  and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY),  you would appreciate this. To get a budget cut done in the UN, it has to be by consensus. Imagine if all 535 members of Congress had to agree on any number, any kind of cut. It would never get done. We got it done.

But this is because the president is willing and is capably using the leverage we have, and that’s the taxpayer dollars. We’re not going to pay for this nonsense anymore until we see the reforms so I could go back to my old district and look them in the eye and say, “Your money is being well spent. We are nowhere near there. And so, yes, you could fill this room with reform documents, but with his leadership, we’re starting to get it done.

Public UN vs. Private UN

Sen. Coleman: So, ambassador, we’re seeing the rise of antisemitism. Obviously, we deal with it in the United States, but globally. Look what’s happening in Ireland. Look what’s happening in Spain. Look at the forces in England and France that are on the streets. Antisemitism loud and clear. On the other hand, people understand that this is important to America, right? And do you have quiet conversations? Are there any of these folks telling you they know what’s going on on the street, but understand that that’s not the place to be?

Amb. Danon: Yeah, you have the public UN and the private UN. With many of those countries, we have conversations. But we have to speak about the public UN for a minute. And I will give you an example of what happened only a few days ago, when the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, decided to put our troops, our soldiers, our police forces on a blacklist, blaming us for committing sexual crimes against detainees as part of a war effort, basically putting us on the same list as the Hamas terrorists who committed horrible crimes on Oct. 7, 2023. And he knows better because for the past year we have worked with his office. We provided documents. We actually invited his professionals to come to Israel, and we haven’t received any complaints or testimonials. And at the end of the day, he ignored everything, and he put us on that blacklist.

So many ambassadors came to me over the weekend. They called me, told me, Danny, it’s horrible what happened here. But at the end of the day, when you open the record of the UN, you will find Israel with Boko Haram, with Islamic State in Iraq and Syria,  with Hamas, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with Sudan. So for us, that’s the daily fight we are fighting at the UN

I’m optimistic about our future because I think what we are doing now and what we did in the last few months in Iran, in Syria, in Lebanon, in the Gaza Strip, is that we have gained a lot of respect from many countries. They can criticize us publicly, but privately they will come to me, and they will ask me, “Can we meet the guy or girl who designed the pagers operation [against Hezbollah]? Can we come to Israel and learn more about what you are doing?” So yes, when you show strength, you gain respect.

Dealing with Iran

Sen. Coleman: So, both of you deal with an Iranian ambassador in the UN. I have to believe that they do in the UN what they do all the time: they lie. Ambassador, do you have any advice for the president about dealing with the Iranians?

Amb. Waltz: Keep doing what he’s been doing. He is the first and only president who has, I think, the courage and the boldness and the foresight to not kick the can down the road, to not put a strategy under the banner of hope, to not believe the lies that have come out of this regime for so many decades. He took the bold action last June with Operation Midnight Hammer, and it was heavily debated not only within the administration, in Congress and elsewhere. Thank God for our B-2 pilots and our amazing United States military, which he funded and rebuilt after years of sequestration and budget cuts under the Obama administration, so they were ready and capable.

But back to the point: do we walk away or do we reform? You need one place in the world, one time a year, where every world leader can come and talk. I want that in the United States of America, not in Beijing, not in Moscow, not in Brussels, or what have you.

Going back to Gaza–because as Danny pointed out, it’s all interrelated–there was a meeting after Israel hit downtown Doha, which sheltered Hamas leaders, but also hosted a US base.  During the annual UN General Assembly gathering in New York, there was a meeting here of Gulf Arabs and Muslim-majority nations—one that only President Trump could have convened—which led to Sharm el-Sheikh and the historic 20-point peace deal. And for the first time in decades, Danny, we have no Israeli hostages in the tunnels of Gaza. They are all out. And if you had placed your bets a few years ago, you would never have said we’d get them all out—certainly not under the Biden administration, only under President Trump. And so we put diplomacy first, backed by the big stick of the US military. I think the unsung hero right now is [Treasury Secretary] Scott Bessent and what he is doing with the maximum pressure of economic sanctions. The things the Iranians fear most are economic collapse, running out of money, and the unrest that will follow. They’ll take the military hits, but they cannot continue to survive the way Bessent is turning the screws, coupled with the blockade. So, you asked my advice, and my advice has been to keep up the pressure. It was the second thing President Trump signed when he came in for his second term: the maximum pressure campaign. Scott Bessent is an economic ninja with Operation Economic Fury, and that’s what has them running scared.

Sen. Coleman: So, this is Amb. Danon’s second term. He’s been around the UN a lot. He’s got a lot of experience. He’s come back again. The Iranians are in a different position today. They’re in a different position economically. They’re in a different position without a Navy, without an Air Force, without leadership at the third level. Do you see any of that reflected in what Iran is saying at the UN, what they’re doing at the UN, or how they’re being received at the UN?

Amb. Danon: Unfortunately, despite the attacks and the amazing results, when I look at the Iranian ambassador, Mr. Yeravani, he’s so arrogant. He thinks they won the war. So that’s the game they are playing, the Iranian game of negotiations. They know that they lost the war. They know better than that. But they’re playing that game. And today, we are also seeing that in Iran, everything is much, much slower. I don’t know why, but they are not using cell phones. So imagine they’re running a country, a huge country, 90 million people. And when you go to the leadership to get instructions, they send a courier to write them. So it takes time for him to get instructions from Tehran to New York, believe it or not. So, they’re relatively quiet. And I want to thank my dear friend, Ambassador Waltz, because I think the Iranian ambassador tried a few times to educate you, and you showed him who the boss is.

Amb. Waltz: Not my first firefight.

Amb. Danon: But I think that what we are seeing now, which is very interesting, is that today it’s not only the US or Israel leading the fight against Iran in the United Nations. You have other countries, Muslim countries, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and other countries that are leading the efforts against Iran. And they’re not going anywhere. They will stay in the game with us. And we have to realize that we will need to continue monitoring everything happening on the ground. And if we have to go back and dismantle capabilities, we are not going anywhere.

Amb. Waltz: Norm, can I just add two things to that? Again, back to my charge from President Trump: find the needles of potential in the haystack of this messed-up organization. Number one, it’s not just our sanctions now. We already had snapback sanctions that were reinstated. So it’s the entire world keeping that pressure on. And number two, as Danny was just saying, Bahrain led a resolution in the UN Security Council that received a UN record, 136 co-sponsors. And I got to tell you, we love to hate the place, but the rest of the world really pays attention to that diplomatic isolation. And the Iranians are absolutely and completely isolated.

When countries like Vietnam, Japan, and South Korea say that a dispute between two nations—over a nuclear program or anything else—is one thing, but that blocking an international waterway with sea mines is another, that carries weight. You can’t respond by attacking hotels, resorts, airports, and the like. You can’t respond by trolling international waters. If Morocco and Spain were ever to get into a conflict, they can’t throw sea mines in the Straits of Gibraltar.

So, having the weight of international law in 136 countries saying publicly you’re wrong drives the Iranians crazy. And that’s why their ambassador here was almost speechless; his lip was quivering. He was so mad. Diplomatic isolation actually can matter. And I’m thrilled to have this wingman right here in the foxhole with me.

Abraham Accords and the Road Ahead

Sen. Coleman: So let me end this conversation on a positive note. In these most challenging times, we have the best friend that Israel has ever had in the White House, the best friend that American Jews ever had in the White House, Donald J. Trump. We have tremendous leadership in Israel that has shown incredible strength and has been our ally from the beginning. These are challenging times, but we’re in a pretty good place.

So you mentioned a couple of places that are helping by raising their voice: Bahrain and the UAE. They’re part of the Abraham Accords. I was there in the Rose Garden when President Trump announced the Abraham Accords. That was a couple of years ago. And now we’re at this period where–I travel around the world–people want to be on Team America. They want to be on Team Trump around the world.

So, talk to me a little bit about the future. Is there an opportunity? The president has said that if we’re going to do a deal with Iran, he wants the [other] Arab countries to be part of the Abraham Accords. Give us a sense of what the future holds. I’ll turn to Amb. Danon first, and then I’ll let you close, Amb. Waltz, okay?

Amb. Danon: We are all very proud of the Abraham Accords, and we saw it in action in the last few weeks when other Arab countries  supported the UAE, and we stood together with them. And more countries are looking to join the Abraham Accords. Even Kazakhstan joined the Accords. And we have elected officials here. And I encourage you also to think about ways to make it more exclusive so that if you actually join the Accords, you get more than just other countries in your region. And we are seeing it now in some parts of Asia. Countries are looking into that.

Also we have to remember the Isaac Accords, which are Latin American countries basically supporting the Abraham Accords. Look at what’s happening in Latin America. Argentina, President Javier Milei, is a great friend of Israel. Chile used to have crazy, progressive liberal governments, anti-US and anti-Israel. Now they are conservative. Look at Paraguay and Ecuador. Today they had [first-round] elections in Colombia, and it looks really good for the candidate. [A runoff, including a conservative, pro-American candidate, was to be held on June 21.]  And I think it’s not only regional countries.

I think more and more countries understand the substance of the Abraham Accords and their importance. We all know that we’re waiting for the Saudis to join. I think it will take some time, but we will see more countries outside the Middle East coming to the US and saying they want to be part of the Abraham Accords.

Sen. Coleman: By the way, there is a Jewish mayor in Panama City. Watch out for him. Panama may be coming on board soon. Amb. Waltz, close us out.

Amb. Waltz: Well, it was President Trump’s signature achievement, in my humble opinion, of his first term, a foreign policy achievement anyway. And it was no accident that his first overseas trip was to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE. And he leads with commercial diplomacy. He believes business binds people. And the more you have these various countries talking about data centers and ports and roads and rail, the less they’re talking about thousand-year-old grievances from their father’s great-grandfather, right? And so we’re seeing that come together. We’re seeing that with Israel and the UAE. We’re seeing that Israel, UAE, India, and those connections are absolutely happening.

But what he just said recently was essentially, if I could paraphrase, not who is ready to normalize eventually. It’s who is ready to lead a new Middle East now. Who is ready to be forward-looking along the lines of that commercial diplomacy and jettison a lot of the old hatreds of the past. And you’re seeing that next generation. You’re seeing it in the fact that the president, in his first trip of his second term, went to the Abraham Accords Center in the UAE. That is why I think he is so transformative as a president, why he surrounds himself with business people who are focused on results, not the old kind of academic approach of just throwing more money at a problem and hope you get a different result, whether they’re taking these kinds of non-traditional approaches, all focused on getting things done now.

And I got to tell you, I’ll just close with this. We are rolling in on America’s 250th birthday. We are the luckiest, most fortunate people in the world to live in the world’s oldest democracy. But to be partnered with the Middle East’s only democracy is something that we can never lose sight of, that we have to fight for. We go back to a merchant by the name of I.M. Solomon, who basically financed the Continental Congress and the revolution at the time. In this revolutionary idea that our rights are given by God. They’re not given by kings or czars or emperors or government. They are ours. And we decide then what duties we’ll give to a representative government. And so that always has to be fought for. And those values, I can tell you, with my wingman here in the foxhole, is something that we will fight for in a place called the United Nations, day in and day out. So it’s an honor to be with you tonight. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, a round of applause.

Sen. Coleman: Ambassador of Israel to the United Nations, Danny Danon.Ambassador of the United States to the United Nations, Mike Waltz. God bless America. Am Yisrael Chai.