Trump chooses pro-Israel Elise Stefanik as his UN ambassador
US President-elect Donald Trump has picked pro-Israel New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik as his ambassador to the United Nations, according to MiddleEastEye.
On November 11th,, he chose Stefanik who has little foreign policy experience and holds staunchly pro-Israel views.
In a statement Trump said: “Elise is an incredibly strong, tough, and smart America First fighter.”
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Stefanik has attacked the UN and accused it of antisemitism for its criticism of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
Elise Stefanik has also supported bills targeting pro-Palestinian student encampments that were erected this past spring in protest against the war.
She was one of the few US lawmakers who labelled the protests, which called on the US administration to cut economic ties with Israel or companies that support the war, as antisemitic.
According to MiddleEastEye, this was on the basis that they were critical of Israel.
After aggressively interrogating several university presidents during a hearing, who had presided over the encampments, her name circulated around Washington.
In the hearings, she repeatedly asserted that the slogans “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada” were tantamount to calls for genocide.
READ: Israel: There will be no ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah
Once the Senate confirms her nomination, she will succeed US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who has held the position for the entire Biden administration.
Over the past year, Thomas-Greenfield vetoed several attempts at the UN calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, with the US becoming more isolated internationally due to its support for Israel’s war.
Trump previous UN ambassador was Nikki Haley, who used her position to withdraw the US from the UN Human Rights Council and its cultural agency, UNESCO, accusing them of having anti-Israel bias.
In a similar vein last month, Elise Stefanik called for a “complete reassessment” of US funding for the UN, and she has pushed for blocking Washington’s support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.
She worked as a domestic policy advisor under President George W Bush’s administration and became the youngest woman to be elected to Congress in 2014.
During her time in Congress, she worked on several pro-Israel measures, including a bill targeting the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestments, and Sanctions movement.
The bill effectively barred US citizens and companies from providing information to foreign countries and international organisations that “have the effect of furthering” the boycott of Israel.
READ: Israel’s Smotrich calls for West Bank annexation
Elise Stefanik also supported stopping the transfer of Mohammed al-Qahtani from Guantanamo Bay to Saudi Arabia, despite him being cleared for transfer and not being charged with a crime.
Stefanik’s promotion comes after ultra-nationalist Israeli ministers rejoiced at Trump’s election victory on November 6th, according to Levantis.me
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, an anti-Palestinian and pro-settlement ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, posted on X: “Yesssss”.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich was also quick to react to the election result, posting on X: “God bless Israel. God bless America.”
Dubbed the de-facto “governor” of the occupied West Bank, he is accused of leading the annexation of the Palestinian territory.
MiddleEastEye and Levantis.me
