Nikki Haley: 'We have a country to save, and I’m determined to do it'

I was recently invited to the JCC of Monmouth County (in the Deal, New Jersey, area) to hear Republican nominee and former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley speak as she launched her run for president of the United States. The election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 5, 2024. 

Haley was graciously received by the prominent Jewish community of Deal and was asked a series of questions on stage by Jack Kassin (a local resident who hosted the evening with his wife, Joyce) regarding her warm relationship with the Jewish community and Israel, and her ambition to become the next US president. 

Why do you want to be president of the United States?

I am doing this for my parents who came to America 50 years ago to an America that was strong and proud and full of opportunities. I want them to know that America again. I am doing this for my husband and his military brothers and sisters because I want them to know that their sacrifice means something and that we do love our country. I am doing this for my daughter who just got married and I saw how hard it was for her and her husband to buy a home. And I’m doing this for my son because I’ve seen him write papers on things he doesn’t believe in just to get an A. For the first time, 78% of Americans don’t believe that their kids will live as good of a life as they did. We can’t be okay with that; we have a country to save, and I’m determined to do it.

We saw many positive developments in the US-Israel relationship during your tenure as US ambassador to the UN, including the moving of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. What is your opinion on where US-Israel policy stands today, and how would you approach the US-Israel relationship as president?

It was such a beautiful time because we were acknowledging a truth. There was a lot of heat that came with that, but I think for me, and for President Trump as well, it was acknowledging a truth. We have always put our embassy in the capital of every country. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and we were acknowledging that truth. When I arrived at the United Nations, I saw how abusively Israel was being treated (and it was coming off of when President Obama was in office); and for the first time, the US had basically abstained from a resolution that just vilified Israel. The US had never done that before. The idea that they abstained, I knew we had a lot of work to do when I got there. We had this protocol that you always had to meet with certain ambassadors in a certain quarter, and Israel that wasn’t on that list. I broke protocol, and Israel was one of the first countries that I met with. I did that for a couple of reasons. One is that if we don’t have the backs of our friends, what does that say about America? We have to do that. So after that happened, I went to Danny Danon (who was Israel’s ambassador at that time) and said, ‘I don’t know why they did that. But as long as I’m here, you will never have to worry about me not having your back.’ And I was true to my word from the first day that I got there until the last day. What I did for Israel at the United Nations is what we need to be doing for Ukraine now as well, and we will always need to have the back of free countries.   

What’s happening now is so disturbing. Why did it take months for President Biden to invite the Israeli prime minister to come to the US? That’s unthinkable. Why is the current president going about complaining about what’s happening with Israeli domestic policy that’s not our business any more than it’s their business to get involved with American domestic policy. You see this happening, and at the same time he is going about appeasing Iran. Everything about that sets a bad tone. I can promise you that my very first call as president will be to the prime minister of Israel, and we will set the tone and proceed with all of the good that happened with the Abraham Accords and everything we did to develop that partnership. We will start to build on that again, and we have some work to do when this current administration is done. 

HALEY RECEIVED thunderous applause from the appreciative audience at the end of the evening. A few weeks later, on August 24, she emphasized her pro-Israel stance during the first debate of the 2024 presidential campaign season in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The debate, hosted by Fox News, included eight candidates except for Donald Trump, who was instead interviewed by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. During the debate, Haley lashed out at entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy over his recent proposal to cut US aid to Israel. The current deal between the US and Israel, which gives the Jewish state $3.8 billion annually, expires in 2028.

“He wants to stop funding Israel,” Haley declared, referring to Ramaswamy. “You don’t do that to your friends. It’s not that Israel needs America. America needs Israel.”

In response, Ramaswamy refused to back down. “Our relationship with Israel will never be stronger than by the end of my first term,” he said. “But it’s not a client relationship, it is a friendship. And you know what friends do? Friends help each other stand on their own two feet.”

NIKKI HALEY served as the 116th governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, she was the 29th United States ambassador to the United Nations for two years, from January 2017 through December 2018. During her time as ambassador to the UN, she fought as a lioness on a daily basis defending both Israel and the Jewish people against the blatant discrimination and antisemitism at the UN, pointing out that the same countries that draft endless resolutions against Israel are often the biggest violators of human rights. 

As Haley writes in her memoir entitled With All Due Respect; Defending America with Grit and Grace, “For me, human rights have a natural, central place in US foreign policy because they reflect our principles as Americans. When I was governor of South Carolina, we were the first state in the nation to pass a law taking on the antisemitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) movement. We stopped using taxpayer funds to do business with any company that discriminates on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, or national origin. I was proud of South Carolinians for acting in defense of our values. I felt the same way at the UN.” 

Among some of Haley’s key achievements and highlights during her time as ambassador to the United Nations under the Trump administration was that she renewed and reaffirmed America’s close relationship to “the US’s greatest friend and ally, Israel” and reasserted Israel’s sovereign right to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem. 

She also helped pass three separate and strong sanctions against North Korea for its nuclear program. In addition to a long list of achievements, ambassador Haley firmly stood her ground against US adversaries such as China, Russia and, most notably, Iran. She said she used every resource at her disposal to prevent and end the Iran deal, which she argued would have enabled the biggest global supporter of terror to become a nuclear power.

For me, it was an honor to meet Haley, have her sign her book (she published a new book in 2022 titled If You Want Something Done: Leadership Lessons from Bold Women), and gain an in-person glimpse of her greater vision for America and her pro-Israel stance that she cherishes so much. She has stood her ground as a true defender of Israel.  ■

The writer received his undergraduate degree in business cum laude from Yeshiva University and his MBA with double distinction from Long Island University. He is a financial adviser who resides in New York City and is involved in Israel-based and Jewish advocacy organizations.