Samantha Power, President Obama’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said she would press for Israel to have a rotation on the Security Council.
“The Security Council seat is one that has eluded Israel, despite its many contributions across the years, and I commit to you wholeheartedly to go on offense,” Power told Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
Menendez has pressed for such a rotation, which has for decades eluded Israel, in part because it does not belong to any of the regional groupings that advance nominations for temporary membership on the council.
The source for the story was this spoof, which was promoted in an email (which I have) sent out by International Solidarity Movement leader Paul Larudee, followed.
Samantha Power, President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace outgoing U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, has promised to push for a UN Security Council seat for Israel. (Loyalty to Israel is considered a prerequisite for high office, and creative ways of advancing Israel’s agenda are often rewarded with career advancement.)
“The United States has no greater friend in the world than the State of Israel,” Power told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at her confirmation hearing on July 17, 2013.
At the end of the day, I met with her to get further details. Here is a transcript of our discussion:
Barb Weir: Ms. Power, your advocacy for Israel in the hearings today is impressive, but how can you get Israel onto the Security Council? Aren’t most of its neighbors in the Middle East and the Muslim world opposed to being represented by Israel?
Samantha Power: That’s true, Barb, but we consider Israel to be part of Western Europe, which of course it is, if you ignore geographic considerations. It would take one of the European seats and represent Europe.
Barb Weir: How do the Europeans feel about that?
Samantha Power: That’s been an obstacle until now, but with our urging, many of them will be willing to do almost anything for Israel. We are also hoping to add Qatar to Europe, which will improve chances for Israel.
Barb Weir: And if they don’t, what’s plan B?
Samantha Power: In that case, we’ll simply give the U.S. seat to Israel. That is in practice no different from the current situation, but if Israel can get a European seat, that means it will have two. And two are better than one.
Morons.
