The former President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), who, serving as a judge, gave the preliminary ruling in South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, took issue with the media claiming the International Criminal Court (ICC) had accused Israel of genocide, saying, “I’m correcting what’s often said in the media.” The ICJ is the principal judicial entity of the United Nations.
Judge Joan Donoghue appeared on the BBC’s “HARDtalk” with host Stephen Sackur.
“Would it be fair to say, and I’m no lawyer, and many people watching and listening will not be lawyers, but would it be fair to say that the key point that you made your initial order and ruling upon, was whether or not there was a plausible case that should be taken on by the court of genocide in the case of Israel’s actions in Gaza after October 7, and you quite clearly decided that there was a plausible case?” Sackur asked. “Is it right to say that’s at heart what you decided?”
Contending directly with Sackur’s supposition, Donoghue replied, “You know, I’m glad I have a chance to address that because the court’s test for deciding whether to impose measures uses the idea of plausibility, but the test is the plausibility of the rights that are asserted by the applicant, in this case, South Africa. So the Court decided that the Palestinians have the plausible right to be protected from genocide and that South Africa had the right to present that claim in the Court.”
“It then looked at the facts as well, but it did not decide — and this is something where I’m correcting what’s often said in the media — it didn’t decide that the claim of genocide was plausible,” she continued. “It did emphasize in the order that there was a risk of irreparable harm to the Palestinian right to be protected from genocide, but the shorthand that often appears — which is there’s a plausible case of genocide —  isn’t what the court decided.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
The president of the ICJ stated unequivocally that the ICJ did NOT find that there was a Genocide in Gaza.
She even specified that there is not even a “plausible” genocide.
<a href="https://t.co/MgbBDIldqd">pic.twitter.com/MgbBDIldqd</a>
— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) <a href="https://twitter.com/EYakoby/status/1943154628750684271?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Left-wing groups such as <a href="https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/12/amnesty-international-concludes-israel-is-committing-genocide-against-palestinians-in-gaza/">Amnesty International</a> and <a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/19/israels-crime-extermination-acts-genocide-gaza">Human Rights Watch</a>, among others, have launched the claim that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
“International law is clear on the need for ‘specific intent’ to accompany any acts falling within the actus reus of the crime of genocide, that is the intent to destroy in whole or in part one of the protected groups, as such,” the European Journal of International Law, arguing against the claim of genocide by Israel, <a href="https://www.ejiltalk.org/rebutting-allegations-of-genocide-against-israel/">stated</a>. “Simply intending to kill or to otherwise harm individual members of that group would not be sufficient to reach this very high threshold of intent.”
The Journal continued:
<blockquote>
With respect to humanitarian aid, despite initial statements to the contrary, Israel later on allowed humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip during its military operation, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/israel-hamas-war-biden/card/israel-says-it-will-allow-humanitarian-aid-into-gaza-N8P2H1SSRK9vhWZmn3Sa">clarifying</a> that its main concern after the 7 October 2023 attacks was that the aid would end up in the hands of Hamas. It has also taken steps to prevent harm to the civilian Palestinian population, including by: (i) encouraging civilians to move out of the line of fire through disseminating fliers, publishing information online, making thousands of individual phone calls, and communicating instructions and directions in Arabic via radio and other forms of media to guide Gazans to safer areas (see <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-army-publishes-map-it-says-advises-gazans-safe-evacuation-areas-2023-12-01/">here</a>); (ii) holding fire to enable Gazans to safely move through humanitarian corridors (see <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-16/israel-announces-another-safe-passage-for-gazans-to-move-south">here</a>); (iii) delivering incubators, baby food and medical supplies to Al-Shifa Hospital during a raid (see <a href="https://twitter.com/IDF/status/1724678643010404446">here</a>); and (iv) carrying out assessments and verifications that any strikes are directed at military targets.  
</blockquote>

NETHERLANDS-JUSTICE-UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT

International Criminal Court Did Not Rule Israel Committed Genocide, Judge Says

Courts

Gaza

genocide

International Court Of Justice

Israel

United Nations

World

The United States is imposing sanctions on United Nations Human Rights Council special rapporteur Francesca Albanese over a “campaign of political and economic warfare” against the United States and Israel.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions on Wednesday in a post on X. Albanese is the UN rapporteur on Palestinian rights and has a long history of downplaying Palestinian terror and mischaracterizing Israeli military and defense operations.
“Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt [International Criminal Court] action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives,” Rubio wrote.
“Albanese’s campaign of political and economic warfare against the United States and Israel will no longer be tolerated. We will always stand by our partners in their right to self-defense,” he continued. “The United States will continue to take whatever actions we deem necessary to respond to lawfare and protect our sovereignty and that of our allies.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Today I am imposing sanctions on UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese for her illegitimate and shameful efforts to prompt <a href="https://twitter.com/IntlCrimCourt?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IntlCrimCourt</a> action against U.S. and Israeli officials, companies, and executives. 
Albanese’s campaign of political and economic…
&mdash; Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) <a href="https://twitter.com/SecRubio/status/1942998936874054046?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 9, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Last week, Albanese released a <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/a-hrc-59-23-from-economy-of-occupation-to-economy-of-genocide-report-special-rapporteur-francesca-albanese-palestine-2025/">report</a> on “the corporate machinery sustaining Israel’s settler-colonial project of displacement and replacement of the Palestinians in the occupied territory.” The report, titled “From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide,” identified nearly 50 corporate entities that it accused of war profiteering for working with the Israeli government.
Last month, Albanese <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/vicious-anti-israel-un-special-rapporteur-calls-for-un-to-expel-israel">called</a> for Israel to be expelled from the United Nations after Israeli forces bombed the headquarters of the UNRWA in Gaza City. Israel carried out the strike after learning that Hamas had set up a military base inside the headquarters after it had been evacuated.
Over the course of the war, close links between Hamas and the UNRWA have been revealed, including members of the UNRWA taking part in the October 7 attack and also being members of Hamas.
Albanese has been a supporter of the antisemitic Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) movement targeting Israel. She has also been an outspoken opponent of Israel’s military operation in Gaza. In February, Albanese <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/un-official-duped-by-fake-rabbis-invite-to-speak-on-morality-of-intifada-at-anti-israel-protest">said</a> that Israel did not have the “right” to invade Gaza after Hamas militants and Palestinians killed around 1,200 people and took hostage hundreds more in the October 7 terror attack.
“It didn’t have the right to act in self-defense, meaning waging a war because it couldn’t wage a war against the people it maintains under occupation,” Albanese told an audience of students at Harvard University. “What Israel had to do was to repel the attack on its own territory, arrest and detain and treat humanely the people who had been arrested and ensure justice.”
Albanese has also appeared to benefit from her close ties to Palestinian groups. In 2023, Albanese took a trip to Adelaide, Australia, that was funded by a cohort of Palestinian groups, including The Australian Friends of Palestine Association and Australia Palestine Advocacy Network.
The trip sparked concern from a watchdog group, UN Watch, that <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anti-israel-un-official-takes-expensive-trip-funded-by-palestinian-lobby-groups-report">sent</a> a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling for Albanese&#8217;s removal. In the letter, UN Watch pointed out that “independence and impartiality are basic requirements for UNHRC Special Procedures under Article 3 of the <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/Documents/HRBodies/SP/CodeOfConduct.pdf">Code of Conduct</a>, which requires them to be ‘free from any kind of extraneous influence … either direct or indirect.’”

Francesca Albanese

Rubio Sanctions UN Official Waging ‘Political And Economic Warfare’ Against U.S., Israel

Marco Rubio

United States

After the United Nations condemned Google and its parent company, Alphabet, accusing them of profiting from the “genocide carried out by Israel’ in Gaza, Google co-founder Sergey Brin fired back, declaring that the global intergovernmental organization was “transparently antisemitic.”
Unsurprisingly, the United Nations <a href="https://www.un.org/unispal/document/a-hrc-59-23-from-economy-of-occupation-to-economy-of-genocide-report-special-rapporteur-francesca-albanese-palestine-2025/">report</a> with the allegation against Google was authored by the notorious, viciously anti-Israel Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese. Her remarks included statements such as, “For Israeli companies like Elbit and IAI, the ongoing genocide has been a profitable venture,” “Where corporate entities continue their activities and relationships with Israel &#8230; they may be found to have knowingly contributed to &#8230; crimes of apartheid and genocide,” and “Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon grant Israel virtually government-wide access to their cloud and AI technologies, enhancing data processing, decision-making and surveillance/analysis capacities. In October 2023, when Israel’s internal military cloud overloaded, Microsoft Azure and Project Nimbus Consortium stepped in with critical cloud and AI infrastructure.”
On Saturday, in an internal forum for employees, according to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/07/08/sergey-brin-united-nations-gaza-israel/">The Washington Post</a>, Brin stated, “With all due respect, throwing around the term genocide in relation to Gaza is deeply offensive to many Jewish people who have suffered actual genocides. I would also be careful citing transparently antisemitic organizations like the UN in relation to these issues.”
“My comments came in response to an internal discussion that was citing a plainly biased and misleading report,” Brin said later in a statement.
On July 1, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations issued a <a href="https://usun.usmission.gov/u-s-mission-to-the-united-nations-statement-opposing-francesca-albaneses-mandate-as-un-special-rapporteur-2/#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20reiterates%20our,targeting%20entities%20across%20the%20world.">public press release</a> urging the organization to remove Albanese. The release stated:
<blockquote>
In recent weeks, Ms. Albanese has escalated her years-long pattern of virulent antisemitism and unrelenting anti-Israel bias by dispatching threatening correspondence to dozens of entities worldwide, including major American corporations. These letters advance deeply flawed legal arguments to support extreme and unfounded accusations that these organizations are complicit in gross human rights violations, apartheid, and genocide. These letters also constitute an unacceptable campaign of political and economic warfare against the American and worldwide economy. In addition, Ms. Albanese’s allegations that Israel is committing “genocide” and engaging in “apartheid” are false and offensive.
</blockquote>
In mid-May, fiercely pro-Israel Australian commenter Erin Molan ripped Albanese after Albanese complained about her reputation having suffered for her despicable behavior, including denying that Hamas raped Israeli women on October 7, 2023.
“Our favorite fraud: Francesca Albanese. She’s upset,” Molan noted. “No, not about denying the rape of Israeli women; don’t be silly. Nor about the atrocities of October 7. Don’t be daft. Or the impact of her atrocious lies on millions of innocents around the world. You’re kidding.”
“You want to know what she’s actually upset about, what she’s losing sleep about?” she asked. “Brace yourself: What some people might think of her.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LwYv7olmnUA?si=-UG724z3C0rjLNZf&amp;start=370" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
The United Nations&#8217; antisemitic behavior has been on display for decades. In July 2024, the anti-Israel International Court of Justice, an arm of the United Nations, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/icj-court-israel-palestinians-settlements-2d5178500c0410341b252335859f2316">ruled</a> that Israel’s presence in the biblical areas of Judea and Samaria is “unlawful,” and that Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria, as well as in East Jerusalem, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/icj-united-nations-israel-settlement-violate-international-law-rcna162667">violated</a> international law.
As UN Watch has <a href="https://unwatch.org/2024-unga-resolutions-on-israel-vs-rest-of-the-world/">noted</a>, “From 2015 through 2024, the UN General Assembly has adopted 164 resolutions on Israel and 84 on other countries. &#8230; The UN Watch Database also documents that from 2006 through 2024, the UN Human Rights Council has adopted 108 resolutions against Israel, 44 against Syria, 15 against Iran, 8 against Russia, and 3 against Venezuela.”

2024 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones – Arrivals

Google Co-Founder Denounces UN’s ‘Genocide’ Claim As ‘Transparently Antisemitic’

Global Politics

Google

Hamas

Politics

Critics of the United Nations have slammed the international organization for hindering the work of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which has reportedly donated more than 50 million meals to Gazan residents.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres claimed on Friday that the GHF in Gaza is “inherently unsafe” and “killing people.” “Guterres said U.N.-led humanitarian efforts are being ‘strangled,’” Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-chief-says-us-backed-gaza-aid-operation-is-unsafe-killing-people-2025-06-27/">reported</a>.
GHF chairman Johnnie Moore responded on Monday, “I’m surprised that something so right, something so simple as feeding people, has become so controversial. We have poked a lot of bears.” He added that the GHF thought it was only “poking the bear of a designated terrorist organization that wants to steal the aid from people,” but in the process unveiled “the underbelly of the United Nations and all of these organizations around the world,” JNS <a href="https://www.jns.org/ghf-lack-of-un-condemnation-of-hamas-killing-of-aid-workers-shows-bodys-underbelly/">reported</a>.
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Asked about reports that the U.N. is pressuring agencies to cut ties with the GHF, U.N. Watch’s Hillel Neuer stated, “It’s not surprising because we’ve seen this attitude consistently from the leadership at the UN; Guterres over a year ago instructed all UN agencies, basically forbade them from dealing with any other effort that would replace UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency] in any way. There were reports from several of these agencies that Guterres gave an order to the heads of all UN humanitarian agencies, do not deal, cooperate in any way with any US-led initiative to replace any of the work that UNRWA is doing. So the latest reports are just a continuation of that kind of policy. In my opinion, it’s kind of like a Mafia-type approach; if you dare cooperate with this entity, we’ll break your legs.”
“I think it is politically motivated because we’re seeing an incredible amount of inversion; the argument put out by the UN — and they’ve been vehement in the past several weeks, more than we’ve ever seen on almost any other issue, certainly from UNRWA,” Neuer explained. “Because they see it as existential, that a more effective non-politicized, authentic, sincere humanitarian effort— would show that UNRWA is the opposite. And it is the opposite. &#8230; UNRWA has a whole political pathological agenda telling Palestinians they have a ‘right of return,’ which means the right to invade Israel on October 7 and massacre Israelis. That’s the true agenda of UNRWA.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Israel and US expected to shield attempts at the UN to close the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation
UNRWA &#39;sees it as existential that a more-effective, non-politicized, authentic, sincere humanitarian effort would show that UNRWA is the opposite,&#39; <a href="https://twitter.com/HillelNeuer?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@HillelNeuer</a> tells <a href="https://twitter.com/natasharaquel_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@natasharaquel_</a> <a href="https://t.co/AsErvnJwB0">pic.twitter.com/AsErvnJwB0</a>
&mdash; i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) <a href="https://twitter.com/i24NEWS_EN/status/1939729929622503503?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“Three weeks ago, Hamas terrorists murdered clearly identified GHS staff as they were returning from a day feeding Gazan civilians,” Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., stated. “All those pictures; they stopped the bus, tortured them in the middle of the road, and executed them. The Secretary-General said nothing. OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the Occupied Palestinian Territory): nothing. UNRWA: nothing. Silence. &#8230; Outrageously, the UN has also emboldened false allegations against the GHF about violent incidents, shamelessly promoting claims from Hamas-controlled sources. The blindness and hatred &#8230; exploded into absurdity, with some actors even promoting the insane conspiracy that the aid being distributed contains drugs and that the people risking their lives to feed families are secretly pushing narcotics. It’s delusional. I don’t get it. Why don’t they cooperate? Why not to work together? Let us speak plainly. If you really care about Gazan children, stop sabotaging the only program that reaches them instead of terrorists.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
I strongly condemned the UN&#39;s conduct toward the GHF, which provides aid to civilians directly, away from the hands of Hamas. 
Instead of supporting the initiative, the UN is actively trying to undermine it and is intimidating organizations willing to collaborate with the GHF.… <a href="https://t.co/K2i7oMmOTc">pic.twitter.com/K2i7oMmOTc</a>
&mdash; Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) <a href="https://twitter.com/dannydanon/status/1939784445218771260?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Moore issued a post on X on Monday in which he pleaded for the media to stop lying about GHF’s efforts, writing, “If you see some piece of info reported by the press from the Gaza Health Ministry then you can know that piece of information is not accurate. It is a LIE. It is part of the info war in an active war &amp; when you see a media outlet report stats from the Gaza Health Ministry it shows their bias. Some press try to justify this by saying the ‘Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry’ but adding ‘Hamas-run’ isn’t to scrutinize the data … it’s often to JUSTIFY their use of the stat for other reasons. It is no better. It’s often a disingenuous tactic at best but sometimes intentionally deceptive. It causes further harm to the Gaza people and prolongs a terrible war.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: if you see some piece of info reported by the press from the Gaza Health Ministry then you can know that piece of information is not accurate.
It is a LIE.
It is part of the info war in an active war &amp; when you see a media outlet report stats from… <a href="https://t.co/B4lwc6e2AA">pic.twitter.com/B4lwc6e2AA</a>
— Rev. Johnnie Moore ن (@JohnnieM) <a href="https://twitter.com/JohnnieM/status/1939608691264655614?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 30, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Ahmed al-Masri, 26, a key organizer of protests against Hamas in April and May, was cruelly tortured by Hamas. “His feet were deliberately broken with large stones and iron crowbars; he was also shot in the legs,” the Telegraph <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/06/29/hamas-tortures-gaza-civilians-while-world-distracted/">reported</a> this week, adding, “The atrocity is part of an escalating wave of bloodshed unleashed by Hamas against the ordinary Gazans it purports to represent.”
“In recent weeks, reports have multiplied of people being dragged out of aid lines, tortured in basements, or simply executed in broad daylight,” the Telegraph continued.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks to the press on

‘We’ll Break Your Legs’: U.N. Accused Of ‘Mafia-Type’ Response To U.S.-Led Gaza Relief Efforts

Gaza Humanitarian Foundation

UNRWA

Israel’s recent strikes on Iranian terrorist infrastructure have predictably reignited debates about the legality of preemptive self-defense under international law. Let’s dispense with the posturing: these strikes were not only lawful, they were necessary, and there is nothing controversial about what happened — legally, morally, or strategically.
The concept of preemptive self-defense has long occupied a contested space in legal scholarship. Article 51 of the UN Charter affirms that:
<blockquote>Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs&#8230;</blockquote>
Critics argue that this language imposes a strict temporal requirement: self-defense can only begin after an armed attack has already occurred. But this interpretation has always been tenuous — and increasingly divorced from operational realities. The law is not meant to incentivize victimhood, which is why many scholars, more rooted in reality, point out that waiting for a missile to land before acting is not international law — it’s international suicide.
That debate, however, is irrelevant here. Because Israel’s right to self-defense is not merely being invoked preemptively.
For decades Iran has openly vowed to destroy the State of Israel, and they have taken many steps to assure the world that they actually mean it. Since October 7, Iran and its proxy forces — Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and militias in Syria and Iraq — have launched thousands of missiles and rockets at Israeli population centers. Each launch was not merely a political provocation, but a war crime: a direct attack on civilians. Under any reading of Article 51, these constitute armed attacks in the strictest legal sense.
And that brings us to the next question: Once the right to self-defense has been triggered, what exactly are its limits?
Customary international law, particularly as articulated in the Caroline doctrine, imposes two key conditions: necessity and proportionality. As Professor Amos Shapira has explained, the central issue is “the dimensions of the risk created by the adversary and the means reasonably necessary to repel, or remove, that risk.” Likewise, Hans Kelsen rightly warned that a right to self-defense that does not allow for the neutralization of the underlying threat is no right at all.
Israel’s response to persistent attacks falls squarely within this framework. The threat is not hypothetical. It is ongoing, declared, and demonstrated. Iran has openly vowed to destroy the State of Israel. Its proxies act constantly to make good on that promise. In recent days Iran has enriched enough uranium to build 15 nuclear bombs. The existential threat is, as the law requires, “instant, overwhelming, leaving no choice of means, and no moment for deliberation.”
In that context, Israel’s latest actions were proportionate and disciplined. Legally, Israel would have been justified in going much further. But it chose targeted, calibrated strikes instead — demonstrating not only military precision, but also strategic restraint.
Some commentators will nonetheless characterize these operations as escalatory or destabilizing. But that critique inverts the causality. The destabilization began with Iranian aggression. Israel’s actions are a stabilizing response — aimed at restoring deterrence and preventing further loss of life.
History has made one lesson painfully clear: peace is not the product of goodwill gestures or international declarations. It is secured by credible deterrence. The idea of peace through strength — long dismissed by the willfully naive — has never been more relevant. Israel’s recent actions embody this principle. When faced with an implacable adversary whose stated goal is your annihilation, strength is not a provocation; it’s a prerequisite for survival. And demonstrating that strength, responsibly and with restraint, is not just a legal right — it is a moral obligation to one’s citizens and allies.
To be clear, deterrence only works if it is believable. That is why the Israeli response was not just defensive—it was declarative. It sent a message not only to Tehran, but to every state and non-state actor watching: We are not passive targets. We will not wait quietly for missiles to rain down or for uranium to be weaponized. We will act, decisively and proportionately, to protect our people. That is how peace is preserved — not by appeasement, but by the unmistakable resolve to uphold red lines and enforce consequences.
There are only two sides in this war: Those who want to kill millions of innocent people, and those who do not. Each person must choose who they want to stand with. But regardless, the international legal system recognizes the right of states to defend themselves. That right is not a theoretical construct, nor is it a suicide pact. It exists for precisely moments like this one.
If the international community is genuinely committed to law and order, then Israel’s actions should not just be understood. They should be affirmed. In addition, Iranian leaders and regime-aligned institutions have repeatedly issued statements calling for the destruction or downfall of both America and Europe. If anything, the world should say thank you.
* * *
John Spencer is chair of urban warfare studies at the Modern War Institute (MWI) at West Point and host of the &#8221;Urban Warfare Project Podcast.&#8221; He is the co-author of &#8221;Understanding Urban Warfare.” 
Mark Goldfeder is Director of the National Jewish Advocacy Center and a law professor at Touro University.
Arsen Ostrovsky is a human rights attorney who serves as CEO of The International Legal Forum and senior fellow at the Misgav Institute for National Security.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

United Nations Security Council Meets To Discuss Israel’s Strikes On Iran

Israel’s Preemptive Strikes Were Legal And Necessary. You’re Welcome.

Israel's Preemptive Strikes Were Legal And Necessary. You're Welcome.

Benjamin Netanyahu

Hezbollah

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Iran

Iran Nuclear Deal

Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

Opinion

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nations nuclear watchdog, on Thursday found that Iran had breached its non-proliferation obligations. It is the first time in almost two decades that the IAEA has taken that stance. The <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/west-plans-push-iaea-board-find-iran-breach-duties-diplomats-say-2025-05-30/">last time</a> the IAEA adopted that position was in September 2005, when clandestine nuclear activities in Iran were discovered.
The IAEA’s declaration means that the report will more likely be considered by the U.N. Security Council. The resolution declaring Iran in violation, which was submitted by the United States, Britain, France, and Germany, was approved by 19 countries with 11 abstentions. Only Russia, China, and Burkina Faso voted against the resolution, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/china/iaea-board-declares-iran-breach-non-proliferation-duties-diplomats-say-2025-06-12/">Reuters</a>.
“The Board of Governors&#8230; finds that Iran&#8217;s many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran &#8230; constitutes non-compliance with its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement with the Agency,” the resolution stated.
“A central issue is Iran&#8217;s failure to provide the IAEA with credible explanations of how uranium traces detected at undeclared sites in Iran came to be there despite the agency having investigated the issue for years,” Reuters added. In February, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/irans-stock-near-bomb-grade-uranium-grows-sharply-iaea-report-shows-2025-02-26/">noted</a>, “The stock of uranium refined to up to 60% in the form of uranium hexafluoride grew by 92.5 kg in the past quarter to 274.8 kg, one of two confidential IAEA reports said. That is enough in principle, if enriched further, for six nuclear bombs, according to an IAEA yardstick.”
On June 2, President Donald Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114616038217949758">posted</a> on Truth Social, &#8220;The AUTOPEN should have stopped Iran a long time ago from &#8216;enriching.&#8217; Under our potential Agreement — WE WILL NOT ALLOW ANY ENRICHMENT OF URANIUM!&#8221;
On June 4, in a televised speech, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei <a href="https://www.iranintl.com/en/202506044672">taunted</a> the United States and the Trump administration over its demand that Iran stop enriching uranium, declaring, “The first word of the U.S. is that Iran should not have a nuclear industry and should rely on the United States. Our response to the U.S. nonsense is clear: they cannot do a damn thing in this matter.”
“The rude and arrogant leaders of America repeatedly demand that we should not have a nuclear program. Who are you to decide whether Iran should have an enrichment?” Khamenei jeered. “Why are you interfering? Whether Iran enriches uranium or not — what does it have to do with you? Who are you?”

AUSTRIA-UN-NUCLEAR-DIPLOMACY-IAEA-UKRAINE

For The First Time In 19 Years, UN Nuclear Watchdog Admits Iran Violated Non-Proliferation Rules

Iran Nuclear

On Wednesday, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, accused the UN of a “brutal &#8230; Mafia-like” response to U.S.-backed non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that wanted to help in the humanitarian effort to provide aid to Gaza.
Danon accused the UN of removing the NGOs of the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) from the shared aid database.
“Not only did the UN refuse to condemn Hamas for its efforts to sabotage the new aid senders — we have seen the pictures of Hamas blocking people — but the UN is now actively joining Hamas in trying to block that aid,” Danon noted. “The UN is using threats, intimidation, and retaliation against NGOs that choose to participate in the new humanitarian mechanism.”
“A number of major international NGOs made a decision to take part in the new aid initiative,” he said. “They decided to ignore the UN’s calls for a boycott. They’re allowed to do it. They said, ‘We want to give it a try; we want to help this new mechanism.’ They chose to act because they truly care about what’s happening.”
“The UN’s response was brutal. It was Mafia-like,” he charged. “Without any discussion, without due process, the UN removed those NGOs from the shared aid database. That database, I want to remind you, is the central system for tracking aid deliverers into Gaza. It was created and approved under a UN General Assembly resolution. But those NGOs, they were frozen out. It is the greatest violation of the UN’s own principles. It is extortion of well-meaning NGOs that refuse to kiss the ring, do the shakedown by UN mobsters. How can they do that?”
“I urge the UN, do not let your egos get in the way,” he stated. “Cooperate with the new mechanism; it has begun and it is operational. Shift your focus from dramatic press statements and intimidating NGOs to the work you are supposed to be doing.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
During a Security Council session, I exposed how the UN operates a system of extortion and threats against humanitarian organizations that cooperate with the U.S. aid mechanism in Gaza. This is mafia-like behavior and a flagrant violation of the UN’s core principles. The UN must… <a href="https://t.co/5Hj6YtHqbP">pic.twitter.com/5Hj6YtHqbP</a>
— Danny Danon 🇮🇱 דני דנון (@dannydanon) <a href="https://twitter.com/dannydanon/status/1927786341355401231?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2025</a></blockquote>
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In mid-May, United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher — who last week made the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/w172zss2c9myv5c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">outrageous and unsubstantiated charge</a> that 14,000 babies would die in Gaza within two days unless aid could reach them,  a charge that was later retracted — criticized the idea of the U.S.-backed GHF, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-aid-chief-lets-not-waste-time-with-us-backed-gaza-aid-plan-2025-05-16/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a>, “To those proposing an alternative modality for aid distribution, let&#8217;s not waste time. We already have a plan.” He <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/05/1163206" target="_blank" rel="noopener">added</a>, “It is a cynical sideshow. A deliberate distraction. A fig leaf for further violence and displacement.”
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial&amp;utm_campaign=memorial&amp;utm_content=editorialmemorialday&amp;_gl=1*1qdq03s*_gcl_au*MTYyNDg0MTE0OS4xNzQxODk4NTMz*_ga*MTEzOTk1NjkxNi4xNzI2MzI1MDQz*_ga_CZKR9ZYKJP*czE3NDgzNzg2NDgkbzEwMDMkZzEkdDE3NDgzODEwMTckajU4JGwwJGgw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Get 40% Off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
The UN’s hostility to Israel has been amply demonstrated for decades. In November 2024, Alice Nderitu, a courageous woman from Kenya who served as the United Nations’ Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, was fired after she stood up to the Israel-haters in the U.N. and refused to declare that Israel had committed “genocide” in its war against Hamas.
In October 2024, Israel banned United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from visiting the country. Israel Katz, the Foreign Minister of the Jewish state, wrote on X, “This is a Secretary-General who has yet to denounce the massacre and sexual atrocities committed by Hamas murderers on October 7, nor has he led any efforts to declare them a terrorist organization. A Secretary-General who gives backing to terrorists, rapists, and murderers from Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and now Iran—the mothership of global terror—will be remembered as a stain on the history of the UN. Israel will continue to defend its citizens and uphold its national dignity, with or without António Guterres.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Today, I have declared UN Secretary-General <a href="https://twitter.com/antonioguterres?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@antonioguterres</a> persona non grata in Israel and banned him from entering the country.
Anyone who cannot unequivocally condemn Iran&#8217;s heinous attack on Israel, as almost every country in the world has done, does not deserve to step…
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) <a href="https://twitter.com/Israel_katz/status/1841422324890812763?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 2, 2024</a></blockquote>
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In July 2024, the anti-Israel International Court of Justice, an arm of the United Nations, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/icj-court-israel-palestinians-settlements-2d5178500c0410341b252335859f2316" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ruled</a> that Israel’s presence in the biblical areas of Judea and Samaria was “unlawful,” and that Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria, as well as in East Jerusalem, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/icj-united-nations-israel-settlement-violate-international-law-rcna162667" target="_blank" rel="noopener">violated</a> international law.
East Jerusalem includes the Temple Mount, the holiest place in the world for Jews.

Eli Sharabi Speaks At The United Nations

Israel’s UN Ambassador Accuses UN Of ‘Mafia-Like’ ‘Shakedown’ Refusing U.S.-Backed Aid To Gaza

Danny Danon

Humanitarian aid

Fiercely pro-Israel Australian commenter Erin Molan ripped Francesca Albanese, the viciously anti-Israel UN Special Rapporteur for the United Nations on the Palestinian territories, after Albanese complained about her reputation having suffered for her despicable behavior, including denying that Hamas raped Israeli women on October 7, 2023.
Albanese has accused Israel of genocide, comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, and campaigned to have the Jewish state expelled from the UN.
&#8220;Our favorite fraud: Francesca Albanese. She’s upset,&#8221; Molan noted. &#8220;No, not about denying the rape of Israeli women; don’t be silly. Nor about the atrocities of October 7. Don’t be daft. Or the impact of her atrocious lies on millions of innocents around the world. You’re kidding.&#8221;
&#8220;You want to know what she’s actually upset about, what she’s losing sleep about?&#8221; she asked. &#8220;Brace yourself: What some people might think of her.&#8221;
Molan played a clip of Albanese moaning, &#8220;I despise and resent the reputational damage that they’ve caused me.&#8221;
&#8220;Where do you even start with that? Do you even bother?&#8221; Molan reacted. &#8220;Maybe just a tiny bit.&#8221;
She then addressed Albanese directly: &#8220;Francesca. One’s own reputation is often a direct result of one’s own actions. Your behavior has been appalling, derelict, dangerous, and unforgivable. You’ve only increased and further encouraged the suffering of the very people you purport to care about and stand for with your denial, your hate, and your hollow rhetoric. Anyone thinking ill of you is all your own doing. Take credit. Some of us just might have helped point it out a little bit. In fact, I’m somewhat encouraged by this revelation that people are starting to cotton on; clearly, if you’re noticing, then other people must be.&#8221;
Molan gave a shout-out to Hillel Neuer from UN Watch &#8220;for doing so much of the heavy lifting here.&#8221; She then showed a clip of Albanese refusing to answer whether she was an anti-Semite and another clip where Albanese said of the Hamas rape of women on October 7, “Let’s assume that rape occurred. So?”
Molan quoted a <a href="https://x.com/FranceskAlbs/status/1921183811158597668">post</a> on X Albanese made within the past week in which she attacked Israel, writing:
<blockquote>
How did we get here? How do we let an army announce to the world the destruction of a people and then level every home, seize every field , shatter every possession they had — even with laughter.  How did we let them kidnap, torture, and rape, even with dogs. And now, starve them — even the children. And what unshakable belief blinds us to what we —  collectively — have done. May they have mercy.
</blockquote>
&#8220;There is no way that she can be unaware that she is essentially describing October 7,&#8221; Molan charged. &#8220;Not even she can be that stupid. But on the off chance her idiocy is less evil and more ignorance, I’ll explain briefly, for the millionth time, Francesca, exactly how we got here. Are you listening?&#8221;
Molan then stated:
<blockquote>
On October 7, the terrorists that you champion slaughtered over 1200 innocent people and took hostages completely unprovoked, many of whom still remain in Gaza. The terrorists you champion continue to try and kill Israelis and Jews — and their own people. It’s all on video. Their own people, while simultaneously promising to never stop. The terrorists you champion are further emboldened and empowered by your voice and others like it to continue their evil rather than face a deserved mass condemnation of the free world which they should have received.
</blockquote>
&#8220;So Francesca, you ask how did we get here, still with innocents dying?&#8221; Molan questioned. &#8220;The answer is: In many ways, because of you and people like you. You never fought for innocent Palestinians, as is your mandate; you instead further inflicted devastating suffering upon them by perpetuating the myth that their enemy is Israel, instead of the very terrorists legitimately responsible for all of their suffering. If you genuinely cared about them, you would fight for the safe and prosperous future of all in the Middle East. It’s all or none. In full awareness that that will only ever be achieved without terrorism.&#8221;
&#8220;So hopefully, I’ve killed two birds with one stone here, and you have a little further clarity as to how we got here; you asked. And also why your reputation is increasingly in tatters,&#8221; she concluded.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LwYv7olmnUA?si=-UG724z3C0rjLNZf&amp;start=370" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
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Mercedes-Benz Sydney Women In Business Luncheon – Arrivals

‘Our Favorite Fraud’: Erin Molan Tears Apart Viciously Anti-Israel UN Rapporteur

anti-Israel

Anti-Semitism

Erin Molan

President Obama’s Offical Visit To Israel And The West Bank Day Two

Digging Up Trouble: Obama’s War Over Jerusalem

Digging Up Trouble: Obama's War Over Jerusalem

Arabs

Books

Jerusalem

Jewish

Jews

Obama Administration

On Sunday, President Donald Trump criticized how journalists have framed Mike Waltz&#8217;s transition from national security adviser to nominee for U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
Several media outlets <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/flurry-of-reports-claim-mike-waltz-out-as-national-security-adviser" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> last week that Waltz, a former Republican congressman from Florida and Green Beret veteran, was ousted from his White House role after he took responsibility for the &#8220;Signalgate&#8221; controversy. However, when <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX2TDnN5F4Q" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pressed</a> by reporters aboard Air Force One during a flight from Florida to Washington, D.C., Trump rejected the notion that Waltz stepped down, let alone was forced out.
&#8220;I just moved him. There was no resignation,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;You people are so bad. You&#8217;re trying to make a big deal out of something that&#8217;s not.&#8221;
In fact, the president insisted moments earlier, Waltz had been promoted.
&#8220;I think it&#8217;s an upgrade,&#8221; Trump said.
Trump dismissed the suggestion that appointing Waltz as his national security adviser was a mistake.
&#8220;He was fine and, where he is, he&#8217;ll do a good job,&#8221; Trump said.
Trump also shut down a reporter who asked what made him lose confidence in Waltz.
&#8220;I didn&#8217;t lose confidence in him. Why did I lose confidence? He&#8217;s going to the United Nations — to me, I think it&#8217;s — personally, if I had to choose for myself &#8230; I&#8217;d rather have that job than the other,&#8221; Trump said.
The &#8220;Signalgate&#8221; controversy began after The Atlantic&#8217;s Editor-in-Chief Jeffrey Goldberg reported in late March that he had inadvertently gained access to a Signal group chat in which leading Trump administration officials discussed plans for airstrikes on Iranian-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen.
In the ensuing fallout, Waltz took responsibility for the breach, which has been <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/so-damn-dangerous-signal-chat-breach-linked-to-automated-suggestion-feature-on-iphone" target="_blank" rel="noopener">linked</a> to the “automated suggestion” feature on his iPhone. But the Trump administration denied there was classified information in the conversation, and the president had stood by Waltz.
On May 1, hours after a flurry of reports <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/flurry-of-reports-claim-mike-waltz-out-as-national-security-adviser" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> Waltz was out as national security adviser, Trump delivered a surprise announcement in which he revealed that he was nominating Waltz to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a move that followed Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) being <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-pulls-stefanik-nomination-united-nations-ambassador" target="_blank" rel="noopener">withdrawn</a> as the original nominee.
Unlike with his role as national security adviser, Waltz will have to go through a Senate confirmation process to be affirmed as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Senate Democrats are predicting a <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-democrats-predicting-brutal-un-ambassador-confirmation-hearing-mike-waltz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;brutal&#8221;</a> confirmation hearing, whenever one is scheduled.
As Waltz prepares for his new role, Trump is already looking ahead to fill the vacancy left by Waltz’s departure from the national security adviser position.
On Air Force One, the president <a href="https://x.com/AutismCapital/status/1919217781846708651" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> reporters that he aims to pick a new national security adviser in the next six months. When asked if he is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/top-trump-white-house-aide-in-running-to-take-post-vacated-by-mike-waltz" target="_blank" rel="noopener">considering</a> White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Trump said Miller is &#8220;at the top of the totem pole&#8221; and &#8220;indirectly, already has that job.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="&#039;That&#039;s Why Nobody Watches You&#039;: Trump Gets Testy With Reporter Asking About Mike Waltz&#039;s Job Change" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UX2TDnN5F4Q?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Mike Waltz

‘You People Are So Bad’: Trump Shreds Media’s Portrayal Of Mike Waltz Switcheroo

Donald Trump

Executive

Media

National Security

In 2024, the United Nations had a $200 million cash shortfall, according to <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2025/05/01/the-un-could-run-out-of-cash-within-months">The Economist</a>, which added, “Internal modelling suggests that the year-end cash deficit will, without cuts, probably blow out to $1.1bn, leaving the UN without money to pay salaries and suppliers by September.”
Approximately $760 million was lost in unpaid dues in 2024; the United States and China each contribute roughly 20% of the UN’s annual budget. The United States contributes $2.3 billion annually.
“Article 19 of the UN charter says that a country that skips two years’ worth of payments will lose its vote in the General Assembly (but not its veto on the Security Council, if it has one),” The Economist reported. “America’s total arrears are about $3bn, still shy of its $4.5bn two-year limit. If Mr. Trump does not pony up, America will fall foul of the rules in next year’s budget and have its vote stripped in 2027.”
In 2022, the countries, in order, that <a href="https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Report-Voting-Practices-of-UN-Members-2022.pdf">voted</a> with the United States the most at the UN were Israel, Canada, the United Kingdom, Liberia, Hungary, Australia, Micronesia, Czechia, and the Marshall Islands. The ten countries that voted with the U.S. the least were Syria, Nicaragua, Iran, North Korea, China, Cuba, Belarus, Algeria, Bolivia, and Russia.
In 2021, the top countries voting <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/united-nations-member-states-voting-records">with the U.S</a>. were Israel, Canada, Micronesia, Australia, the United Kingdom, the Marshall Islands, the Czech Republic, France, Estonia, and Hungary.
Brett Schaefer told the <a href="https://www.aei.org/articles/wth-is-wrong-with-the-united-nations/">American Enterprise Institute</a>, “If this is an organization that has no value whatsoever to our national interests, we need to get out of it and stop funding it because it’s a waste of our time and a waste of our resources.” He added:
<blockquote>This is an organization that Donald Trump had stopped providing funding to because this was an organization that was extraordinarily compromised. It was promoting extremism, celebrating terrorism through its school books and school materials. It was allowing Hamas members to join it as an organization, as employees of the organization. It allowed Hamas, without complaint, to put tunnels and military facilities in close proximity to their schools and their hospitals so that they would be protected by the presence of UNRWA and UN facilities.”
 “The Human Rights Council has never condemned China in its entire history,” he noted. “The UN General Assembly has never condemned China for its human rights practices. Historically, Cuba has been a terrible abuser of human rights. The UN Human Rights Council has never condemned Cuba. The UN General Assembly has never condemned Cuba.”</blockquote>
On February 4, President Donald Trump issued an executive action which <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/withdrawing-the-united-states-from-and-ending-funding-to-certain-united-nations-organizations-and-reviewing-united-states-support-to-all-international-organizations/">stated</a>, “The United States will not fund UNRWA or the UNHRC and that the United States will not satisfy any claims to pay 2025 assessments or prior arrears by these organizations.”

United Nations Building

The United Nations Might Soon Run Out Of Money

Just hours after multiple outlets reported that Mike Waltz was preparing to leave his position in President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration — as National Security Adviser — Trump announced that the former Florida Congressman and Green Beret veteran was being appointed to represent the United States at the United Nations.
&#8220;I am pleased to announce that I will be nominating Mike Waltz to be the next United States Ambassador to the United Nations. From his time in uniform on the battlefield, in Congress and, as my National Security Advisor, Mike Waltz has worked hard to put our Nation’s Interests first,&#8221; Trump posted via his Truth Social platform early Thursday afternoon.
&#8220;I know he will do the same in his new role. In the interim, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will serve as National Security Advisor, while continuing his strong leadership at the State Department. Together, we will continue to fight tirelessly to Make America, and the World, SAFE AGAIN. Thank you for your attention to this matter!&#8221; he concluded.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/nzXuVddyM2">pic.twitter.com/nzXuVddyM2</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1918006925402255717?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Waltz responded to the announcement on X:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I’m deeply honored to continue my service to President Trump and our great nation. <a href="https://t.co/FFTPjnIYkI">pic.twitter.com/FFTPjnIYkI</a>
— Mike Waltz (@MikeWaltz47) <a href="https://twitter.com/MikeWaltz47/status/1918015951410237608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The Democratic Party spent much of Thursday crowing over what they believed was Waltz&#8217;s ouster and clamoring for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to be &#8220;next.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Good. <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteHegseth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PeteHegseth</a> next. <a href="https://t.co/OqhFhLdbk7">https://t.co/OqhFhLdbk7</a>
— Democrats (@TheDemocrats) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheDemocrats/status/1917960032181760494?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin fired off his assessment within minutes of Trump&#8217;s announcement appointing Waltz to serve at the United Nations.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Trump&#8217;s hand-picked national security team has put millions of Americans at risk. It was past time for Mike Waltz to go. <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteHegseth?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PeteHegseth</a> should be next. <a href="https://t.co/LO2Z4QDBxQ">https://t.co/LO2Z4QDBxQ</a>
— Ken Martin (@kenmartin73) <a href="https://twitter.com/kenmartin73/status/1918004017579413834?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Trump had initially selected Rep. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-pulls-stefanik-nomination-united-nations-ambassador" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Elise Stefanik</a> (R-NY) to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. — a role filled during the first Trump administration by former Governor Nikki Haley (R-SC) — but despite reportedly having enough votes to confirm her with bipartisan support, her nomination was withdrawn in an effort to protect Republicans&#8217; very slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Stefanik has since signaled that she may be considering a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-must-fire-kathy-hochul-rising-republican-star-signals-run-for-ny-governor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">run for governor</a> in her home state of New York.

2024 Republican National Convention: Day 1

CURVEBALL: Amid Rumors That Mike Waltz Was Fired, Trump Gives Him Another Top Admin Post

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