On Thursday, the United Nations voted 128-9 to condemn President Trump’s decision to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as well as his declaration of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Following the vote, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a video thanking the United States, as well as the nations that stood behind Israel:
Israel completely rejects this preposterous resolution. Jerusalem is our capital — always was, always will be. But I do appreciate the fact that a growing number of countries refused to participate in this theater of the absurd. So I appreciate that, and especially I want to again express our thanks to President Trump and ambassador Haley for their stalwart defense of Israel and their stalwart defense of the truth.
The nations that voted alongside the United States to reject the U.N. condemnation are as follows: Israel, Nauru, Micronesia, Togo, Palau, Marshall Islands, Honduras, and Guatemala.
35 nations abstained, including Australia, Canada, and Mexico.
Prior to the vote, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nation Nikki Haley gave a blistering speech before the international body, saying in part:
The United States will remember this day in which it was singled out for attack in the General Assembly for the very act of exercising our right as a sovereign nation. We will remember it when we are called upon to once again make the world’s largest contribution to the United Nations; and we will remember it when so many countries come calling on us, as they so often do, to pay even more and to use our influence for their benefit.
America will put our embassy in Jerusalem. That is what the American people want us to do, and it is the right thing to do. No vote in the United Nations will make any difference on that. But this vote will make a difference on how Americans look at the U.N., and on how we look at countries who disrespect us in the U.N. and this vote will be remembered.
You can watch Haley’s full speech here: