Over 100 Congress members tell Guterres US will slash funding to UN if Israel's status downgrades

Any downgrade in Israel’s status or standing at the UN General Assembly will result in a corresponding downgrade of US financial, material, and political support to the UN, more than 100 bipartisan members of Congress wrote in a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Reps. Mike Lawler (R-New York) and Jared Moskowitz (D-Florida) spearheaded the letter, which stated that Congress has taken note of the numerous UN actions “aimed to delegitimize Israel’s right to self-defense.”

“We have concluded that the UN is not a neutral party but one that has definitively taken sides against Israel. We remind you that the US is the largest donor to the UN,” according to the letter. “Our contributions account for one-third of the body’s collective budget. We will not accept the UN’s ongoing hostility to our ally Israel.”

In the letter, the representatives said they were outraged by the recent vote at the UNGA to implement what they called the one-sided International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion undercutting Israel’s right to defend itself by calling on Israel to completely withdraw from the West Bank with no recognition or consideration for Israel’s legitimate security concerns.

Lawmakers warn UN

“It fits a longstanding pattern of an obsessive bias against Israel in the UN that pervades the entire system, even in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre,” the letter said.

“You should be further aware that bipartisan legislation was recently introduced in Congress to prohibit US funding to the UN if Israel’s status at the UNGA is downgraded or its participation is otherwise restricted such that it may not participate fully and equivalently with other member states,” according to the letter.

According to Lawler’s office, the letter is endorsed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Foundation for Defense of Democracies Action, Endowment for Middle East Truth, the Jewish Institute for National Security of America, Zionist Organization of America, Christians United for Israel, the Republican Jewish Coalition, Jewish Federations of North America, and the Combat Antisemitism Movement.