Power: “I will stand up for Israel and work tirelessly to defend it”

Jacob Miller — July 18, 2013 – 9:46 am | Barack Obama | Foreign Policy | Israel Comments (0) Add a comment

Yesterday, Samantha Power appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as part of her confirmation hearings to become the next U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations.

During the hearing Ms. Power promised to be a strong advocate for American interests on the world stage and to fight those seeking to delegitimize Israel. She said:

The United States has no greater friend in the world than the State of Israel. Israel is a country with whom we share security interests and, even more fundamentally, with whom we share core values - the values of democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. America has a special relationship with Israel… Just as I have done the last four years as President Obama’s UN adviser at the White House, I will stand up for Israel and work tirelessly to defend it.

She also spoke about promoting human rights around the world including those for women:

...the UN must stand up for human rights and human dignity, which are American and universal values. The UN Charter calls for all countries “to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights and the dignity and worth of the human person.” But fewer than half of the countries in the world are fully free. The Universal Declaration on Human Rights is universally hailed and yet only selectively heeded…

Taking up the cause of freedom is not just the right thing to do, nor is it simply the American thing to do; it is the smart thing to do. Countries that abuse their own people are unstable. Countries that violate the rights of women and girls will never approach their full potential. Countries that allow people to be trafficked provide safe haven to dangerous transnational criminal organizations.

Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Senator Robert Menendez said that the committee will vote on Power’s confirmation next week.  

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