god bless the united states of america. [cheers and applause] >> few people in the history of america's public diplomacy can be compared to the woman whose last 18 months have been spent fearlessly confronting the unreasonable and immoral anti-israel bias at the united nations. ambassador nikki haley is a courageous voice of truth and one of the most misguided, hypocritical organizations in the world, the united nations. for 70 years america has been

israel's ally and has often defended israel at the united nations, but never in all of that time has our nation had one so consistently bold and unwavering in their defense of the jewish state as has nikki haley. ambassador haley is a woman whose personal faith is lived out every day in the fulfillment of her duties for the united states at the united nations. surrounded by colleagues who are often hostile or apathetic to israel she's never failed to point out the supporting right of israel to exist, its right to defend itself and its right to exercise the same sovereignty of any other nation on earth. when the security council attempt today punish the united states for exercising our nation's sovereign right to

relocate our embassy in israel's historic and legal capital of jerusalem, ambassador haley announced she was taking names of the countries who sided against us. [cheers and applause] >> when the palestinian representative publicly suggested that she needed to shut up, ambassador haley bluntly told him no, and proceeded to speak the hard truths. when human rights council insisted on continuing its one-sided obsession with criticizing israel while ignoring the actions of terrorists like hamas, ambassador haley led the united states to withdraw its funding and participation from that anti-semitic cesspool.

[cheers and applause] as a representative of the values of the american people and our longstanding tradition of support for the jewish state's safety and sovereignty, ambassador nikki haley has distinguished herself in the pages of history for her boldness, for her commitment to truth and the unwavering friendship to the state of israel. cufi has honored to present this award as the defender of israel. israel. [applaus

[applause] >> this award says, for zion's sake, i will not keep silent and for jerusalem's sake, i will not remain quiet, till her righteous shines out like the torch-- isaiah 62:1. [cheers and applause] >> each year the leadership of cufi selects the one person in america that we feel has done the most to defend and protect israel. we're delighted and highly honored to present this award to ambassador haley. [cheers and applause]

>> thank you. oh, thank you so much. i feel the love. i do. thank you. thank you so very much, pastor hagee for that kind introduction and thank you, ambassador dermer for your friendship and your partnership. it's great to be with you. it is my true honor to have been asked to speak with you today. before i say anything about what i do, i want to say a few words about what all of you do. it's always a great thing when americ americans use the power of their voice. what's amazing about christians

united for israel is not just the power of your voice, it's also the importance of the cause you have dedicated your voice to. [applaus [applause] >> israel needs friends. [applaus [applause] >> relive in a world in which anti-semitism is on the rise. in some parts of the world, jewish communities are enduring hate speech, harassment, vandalism, and physical violence. we live in a world in which terrorist groups and even some countries openly call for israel's destruction. many other countries encourage or turned a blind eye to blatant discrimination against israel. even here at home there are

some troubling signs. on many college campuses the anti-semitic media movement has become a trendy cause for students and professors who should know better. standing up against this global pressure campaign on israel and the jewish people goes to the heart of our friendship and the heart of america. and the tip of the spear is christians united for israel. [cheers and applause] what you're doing is so important and may god bless you for it. the united nations is an interesting place. there are times when it can be a force for good. we saw that last year when the international community united against the north korean nuclear weapons program

bypassing massive sanctions that strangled their economy bringing them to the negotiating table. the u.n. can also be an enormously frustrating and bizarre place. nowhere is that more pronounced than in the truly awful way the u.n. has treated israel for decades. last september, when prime minister netanyahu spoke at the u.n., he said that for too long the epicenter of global anti-semitism was the u.n. itself. that's an amazing statement, but unfortunately, it's true. the prime minister also said something else. after describing the revolution that is taking place in israel's ties around the world, prime minister netanyahu said,

quote, there are signs of positive change, even at the united nations. [applause] he said that positive change is a gathering force, unquote. that is also true. i'd like to describe some of those positive changes and why they're happening. plain and simple, change comes with leadership and clarity from the united states. that leadership and clarity was on full display when president trump made the bold and right decision to move the united states embassy to jerusalem. [cheers and applause] >> jerusalem has historically been, is now and will always be

the capital of israel. [applause] >> that is not something that was created by the location of an embassy. that is not something that was created by an american decision. america did not make jerusalem israel's capital. what president trump did to his great credit was recognize a reality that american presidents had denied for too long. jerusalem is the capital of israel, that's a fact. [applaus [applause] >> and president trump had the current to recognize that fact when others would not. now, i have to say our embassy decision caused a bit of a stir at the united nations.

in the united nations security council, countries wasted no time in condemning the united states. they showed no mercy, but that gave me the great honor of casting my first american veto. [cheers and applause] >> the next week, the jerusalem issue was brought before the united nations general assembly, all 193 countries in direct attack condemning the united states. we lost that vote, but to many people's surprise, 65 countries

refused to go against us. in the -- [applaus [applause] >> in the long history of the u.n.'s mistreatment of israel that was a record and we will never forget that vote. like i said at the time, we were taking names. [cheers and applaus [cheers and applause] president trump and i are working to draw closer attention between u.s. foreign aid and whether countries support u.s. interests at the u.n. [applaus [applause] >> not just on the embassy, but on all u.s. interests.

u.n. vets should not be the only factor in our foreign aid decisions. we have many interests that go beyond the u.n., but they should be one factor and we're determined to make that connection. [applaus [applause] >> my second security council veto just came last month, but this time things turned out differently. you have all seen the recent violence at the gaza border. the people of gaza live in miserable conditions. they deserve a much better life than what is imposed on them by hamas. we respect everyone's right to peacefully protest, but no one should be fooled about the role of hamas. [cheers and applause] many of the protesters in gaza

are anything, but peaceful. if they were peaceful, there would be no burning tires, there would be no molotov cocktails, there would be no flaming swastika kites flying into israel, burning thousands of acres of land. and, of course, if this was a peaceful movement, there would not be hundreds of rockets fired from gaza into israel. leak any country would do, israel has responded to the violence at its border. what is so stunning is the international reaction to all of this. think about it. if there were tens of thousands of people looking to attack your border fence, and you had a terrorist group providing guidance on how best to kill innocent civilians inside your country once the border fence

was broken, what would you do? what would the united states do? what would any country do? when i heard country after country in the u.n. security council hypocritically standing in judgment of israel, i spoke o out. [cheers and applause] what i said shocked the people at the u.n. but i'll say it again because it's the truth. [cheers and applause] israel has acted with more restraint than just about any other country would under those same conditions. [cheers and applause] it's true. and yet, israel is still

condemned at the u.n. in the security council a shamefully one-sided resolution was put forth condemning israel's actions in gaza and making absolutely no mention of hamas. know the one mention of the terrorist group that uses the people of gaza as human shields, and fires rockets into israeli schools. that was my second veto. [cheers and applause] but when this nonsense was brought to the general assembly, this time we had a different strategy. we went on the offensive and offered our own amendment that called out hamas' terrorism. now, that might not sound revolutionary, but consider in the history of the u.n. general

assembly, there has been over 600 resolutions on the israel-palestinian issue alone and not one of them has ever mentioned hamas. not one in 600. it's very important to me that we represent truth and reality at the u.n., even if it makes other countries uncomfortable. [cheers and applause] for the first time we made each country say whether they thought hamas had any responsibility for the violence. for the first time we named names and identified the real source of the conflict in gaza. [cheers and applause]

and to everyone's surprise, more countries voted with us than against us. [cheers and applause] that sent shockwaves through the general assembly. everyone was shocked. let me tell you, it's a new day at the u.n. [cheers and applause] from now on every country knows that the united states will not just block anti-israel measures, we will shine a light on those who are responsible. there won't be any more free passes for those who bully israel at the u.n.

and this example shows, sometimes we are winning at the u.n. through persuasion, but there are other times when we just have to say enough is enough. [cheers and applause] that happened last year with the u.n. agency known as unesco. among many other ridiculous things, unesco has the outrageous distinction of attempting to change ancient history. unesco declared one of judaism's holiest sites, the tomb of the patriarchs a site in need of protection from israel. that was enough. ten months into this

administration, the united states withdrew from unesco. [cheers and applause] and then there's even more of an outrageous example of the so-called human rights council. this u.n. agency is supposed to be the world's foremost advocate of human rights. what it's actually become is a protector of dictators and a cesspool of political bias. the corruption of the human rights council goes way beyond israel. its membership includes the murderous dictatorship of cuba, congo and china. human rights council reports have described the brutal regimes in syria, sudan and russia as, quote, get this,

victims of western sanctions, unquote. not only did the u.n. elect the regime of venezuela dictator nicholas maduro to the membership of the human rights council, but the council rolled out the red carpet for maduro to address them in a special assembly. his propaganda speech was met with a standing ovation. so we don't even need to talk about israel to conclude that the human rights council is a sham. sham. [applaus [applause] >> but we should talk about israel because israel is a special case that proves the moral bankruptcy of the organization. there is only one country in the world that has its own permanent agenda item at the human rights council.

it's not north korea, iran, or syria. countries that enslave and torture their own people. it's the free country of israel. [applaus [applause] >> but it's even worse than that agenda item 7 doesn't just single out israel for consideration, agenda item 7 prejudges israel's guilt. it's a political weapon used against israel regardless of the actions it takes. it is meant to condemn israel's very existence as a human rights abuser. it is a moral abomination. a little more than a year ago i went to geneva and told the human rights council that we expected changes in order to justify america's continued

participation. [cheers and applause] we said we needed to change the makeup of the council membership, to keep the worst human rights abusers off and we needed to not just reform, but fully eliminate agenda item 7. dozens of countries told us they agreed with us, but they only told us that behind closed doors. they did not have the courage to call it out for what it was. well, we do have that courage. [cheers and applause] and more than a year of efforts to change the human rights council, we saw the writing on the wall and the united states withdrew. [cheers and applause]

many friendly countries told us we should stay in the human rights council bus american participation was the last shred of credibility the council had. but that's exactly why we should not be there. america will always be the world's leader in advocating human rights, but we will not do that in a place that makes a mockery of the very human rights ideals it's supposed to uphold. [applaus [applause] >> that brings me to a tarringer point. the nobel peace prize winner and leading documentary winner of the holocaust eli weisel talked about many things in his lifetime. one was the idea that neutrality helps fuel the oppressor, never the victim,

and that silence encourages the tormenter, never the tormented. i keep that in mind as i battle away at the united nations. [applaus [applause] >> at the u.n. come well-meaning countries are constantly in search of concensus. they frequently invoke the principle of neutrality. at times there is virtue in working with other countries to form concensus about you that principle could be taken too far and it often is. the united nations -- the united states has no moral duty to be neutral between right and wrong. [applaus

[applaus [applause] >> on the contrary, we have a moral duty to take stands, even when that moral duty means standing alone. being silent has never been something i was good at. you might have seen, and it was mentioned earlier, that the top palestinian negotiator, bless his heart, recently had some advice for me. he told me i just needed to shut up. i responded by saying, mr i wil always be respectful, but i will not shut up. [cheers and applause]

i often get asked how i came to this place, and to this world view. i just believe what i believe. i've always been a person of deep faith, no, i'm not jewish, even though that surprises some people. i was not raised as a christian either. 20 years ago my faith journey brought me to christianity where i have found strength in my faith, and trust in my heart. [cheers and applause]

but i'm also a person who is humble in her faith. i don't claim to know the wisdom, i don't claim to have the wisdom to know what god has in store for me or for other people. what i do know is that god has blessed america with greatness and with goodness. and i know that in the dangerous world we live in, it is absolutely critical for america to stand up and have the backs of our friends, and to stand strong against those who would do us harm. [applaus [applause] >> it if the united nations spent its time relentlessly attacking, japan, australia or the united kingdom, i would stand up for them, too.

[applause] i would do that because they are america's friends and it's the right thing to do, but that's not what happens. 18 months ago, i was given the assignment to represent america in a place that relentlessly attacks israel and i was sent there at a time when america had turned its back on israel. so, it was my duty to defend israel in what is often a dark place for one of america's best friends. i take that duty incredibly seriously and with pride. in one of my first meetings at the u.n., i called on the israeli ambassador, danny -- you can clap for danny, he's a good one. [applause] >> just about one month before i arrived, the previous american administration allowed

a terrible resolution to pass. that resolution condemned israel in the most outrageous way. it was a shameful day for america. so when i arrived, i assured the israeli ambassador that on my watch that would never happen again. [cheers and applause] and i'm proud to say the opposite has happened. in all that we're doing, whether it's the embassy decision, or unesco, or the human rights council, or pushing for votes against hamas, our approach on israel is tied together by one major idea, the idea that runs through all of it is the simple concept that israel must be treated like any other normal country.

[applause] we demand that israel not be treated like some sort of temporary provisional entity or pariah. it cannot be the case that only one country in the world doesn't get to choose its capital city. [applause] >> it cannot be the case that the human rights council has extended agenda items for only one country. it cannot be the case that only one set of refugees throughout the world is counted in a way that causes the number to grow literally forever. it cannot be the case that in an organization with 193 countries, the united nations spends half of its time attacking only one country.

we will not turn a blind eye to it [cheers and applause] our demand for fairness for israel is actually a demand for peace. the u.n.'s bias against israel has long undermined peace by encouraging an illusion that israel will just go away. israel's not going to go away. when the world recognizes that, then peace becomes possible. it becomes possible because all sides will be dealing with realities, not fantasies. fantasies encourage absolutist demands. when realties are accepted, then compromise becomes possible. when the reality of israel's

existence is accepted, both sides will become free to achieve a durable peace. with your help and believe me, your ho help is critical, the u.s. will continue it stand with israel. [cheers and applause] we will stand with israel because israel's cause is our cause. israel's values are our values. israel's fight is our fight. we stand with israel because we believe in right over wrong. we believe in freedom over tyranny. thank you so much for taking the time. thank you for caring. [cheers and applause]

you guys, i'm just trying to survive this job, so-- there is nothing better than when americans use the power of their voices on behalf of good causes. that's what christians united for israel is all about. i'm so thankful for your fight. may god bless each and every one of you. thank you. [cheers and applause]

>> the u.s. senate about to gavel in. they'll be spending the day and likely the rest of the week working on 2019's spending legislation. the senate's combined spending for five federal departments and a number of independent agencies into one bill. the interior department, treasury, agriculture, transportation and housing. senators will be offering amendments. no votes have yet been scheduled. the president pro tempore: the senate will come to order. the chaplain, dr. barry black, will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray.