As Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon represents the Jewish state in an international body many Jews regard with distrust, or worse. The sentiments often seem mutual, with the U.N. seeming to craft a new anti-Israel resolution on a regular basis.
During his time in the Knesset and as deputy minister of defense, Danon rose to influential posts in the center-right Likud Party, chairing the Likud Central Committee and World Likud. Yet he made a name for himself by speaking his mind, even when he disagreed with Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu, the longtime leader of his party.
Last year, Netanyahu appointed him to the U.N. post.
In Los Angeles for an event with the Magbit Foundation, an organization started by the local Jewish-Iranian community to offer interest-free loans to students, Danon stopped by the Jewish Journal office to talk to a group of reporters and editors.
The conversation ranged from the anxious to the optimistic, from positive developments behind the scenes at the U.N. to the stockpiling of missiles by Hezbollah just to the north of Israel. Danon said he remains upbeat about Israel’s place in the world. He’s also realistic about the challenges — diplomatic and otherwise — that face the Jewish state. Here’s a condensed version of that conversation.
Jewish Journal: Last month, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a plan from the French government to try to kick-start negotiations with the Palestinian Authority. He repeatedly said he prefers direct negotiation, yet no such talks are in progress. Is there something you think Netanyahu could be doing to get into direct negotiations?
Danny Danon: My main message is that eventually we will have to go back to direct negotiations, the same way we did with Egypt and Jordan. The Palestinians are doing exactly the opposite. They want to come to the U.N.; they want to go to France; they want to do anything to avoid the direct negotiations. … Speaking with the prime minister, I know he’s willing to do [direct negotiations]. … If somebody would come to him, a neighboring country or any initiative that will bring the people back [to the table], the prime minister will be there. He will come. … I don’t know what would be the outcome because, from what I’m hearing, the Palestinians feel that they don’t need it … that’s the direction they are taking. That’s a pity because I don’t think it will bring us anywhere. … They can gain more easy victories at the U.N., but I don’t think it will actually improve the daily life of the Palestinians.
JJ: Critics of Israel agitate against “normalization” of the Jewish state. Are these voices gaining traction in the U.N.?
DD: This bias against Israel — the amount of resolution is shocking, but also we have some victories. … [One] victory we had is the issue of Yom Kippur. I’m not Orthodox, but I call myself a religious Jew, and I bring my religion into the U.N. So for many years, the mission worked so that Yom Kippur would be recognized at the U.N. It’s not a vote, it’s actually the bureaucrats of the U.N. [who] had to decide about it. And they’ve promised. When I came, I told the [bureaucrats] that they had to give us an answer, either to say, “OK, it will happen next year, 2016,” or I will understand the answer is no. I will not accept a delay. It was a risk, and usually in the U.N., you don’t take those risks. … We applied pressure from the Jewish organizations, politically — I have my political skills as a minister and member of Knesset — and we were successful. The U.N. recognized Yom Kippur [for] this coming year. Some would say, “Who cares?” But I was in New York last Yom Kippur, and President [Barack] Obama spoke in the General Assembly, and I was in shul.
JJ: We hear a lot about Iran putting more advanced systems in the hands of Hezbollah. Is that something supporters of Israel should be worried about?
DD: Today, they have hundreds of missiles that are GPS-guided. They can use the technology we are using with Waze and Google Maps, and they can target my house, the prime minister’s house, the Kiryah [military command center] in Tel Aviv. … That’s one of the things I’m doing at the U.N. I’m building the case about Hezbollah. Ten years ago we passed Resolution 1701, which called for there to be no armed forces in Southern Lebanon. Hezbollah is ignoring it. They are building strength for the next round. They have 100,000 missiles today in Southern Lebanon. So not all of them are GPS-guided, but it’s huge. What I’m doing — I’m showing maps and I’m showing the location of the missiles. It’s next to U.N. facilities, next to schools, in the villages. And I ask, “What do you think we will do? When the missiles will start flying to our direction, [we] will have to retaliate, and then the Security Council here, you will come to me and you will blame us — that we’re hitting poor civilians.”
JJ: Are you worried that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel is getting more and more powerful despite attempts to counter it?
DD: I heard the voices coming from this community in L.A. that it’s “not a big issue. We can ignore it.” I think the opposite. I think first we have to raise it, to empower the people who are dealing with it, build a strategy, and at the same time we should show the real face of Israel. … It’s important that this issue not be ignored. I think it’s very important to get the Jewish community around it. … I believe we can defeat it, first of all, if we have the moral clarity and we understand the threat, and we say, “This is the goal, let’s fight it.”
JJ: Many American Jews despise the U.N. There are calls within the Republican Party to defund it. Now that you’re inside, what do you think of the U.N.?
DD: I think we should change the U.N. I think whoever gives money to the organization, yes, they should demand change. … The U.N. was hijacked and you see where it goes, you see where the money goes. … You look at the issue of UNRWA [U.N. Relief and Works Agency], the goal of which was to support Palestinian refugees. I met the people of UNRWA. I told them, “How dare you. … You get money from countries to promote, to support kids, and you incite against Jews.” So I think you should demand more from the U.N.
JJ: What do you see as the U.N.’s role in fixing Syria in terms of the aftermath of the current civil war?
DD: I don’t think there will be one Syria. So I think the U.N. can provide support. … Lebanon will not be the same, Syria will not be the same, Yemen, Libya — it will not be the same. So yes, the U.N. should be involved, but I don’t think it will be easy. For example, today I’m very busy with the UNDOF [U.N. Disengagement Observer Force]. They sit on the Golan Heights between Syria and Israel. Because of the situation in Syria, they had to evacuate all the posts. So today we’re working with the U.N. to bring them back.
JJ: Does Israel have a role in the fight against the Islamic State, even though many Arab countries don’t want to be seen working with the Israel Defense Forces?
DD: One of the good things that came out of the Iran deal is that many moderate Arab countries today align with Israel, [though] not publicly. And I think this can be instrumental in many ways. If in the past, people said, “First, Israel should solve the problems with the Palestinians and then the Arab world will be able to work with them” — I think today the equation is exactly the opposite. We can work with the moderate Arab countries, and maybe they will help us or work with us to go back to the negotiations with the Palestinians, and maybe on other issues. But also you have to remember there is big gap between the leadership of the Arab countries and the public. That’s something we have to recognize. Look, for example, at Egypt today. We collaborate with the Egyptians, we fight together radical forces, even ISIS forces, in the Sinai, but still you saw that there was a member of parliament in Cairo who met the Israeli ambassador, and the next day he was kicked out of the parliament because he met the Israeli ambassador. And you ask yourself, “That’s the same Egypt?”
JJ: Are you watching the elections in the U.S.? What are your thoughts?
DD: I know you complain a lot about the process, but when I look at it, I value the democracy. I value the debate, the primaries. You take it for granted, but then you come to the U.N. — most of the ambassadors, they never actually had elections in their own countries. So for Israel to see a strong democracy in action, we like it.
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