Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government doesn’t think much of the United Nations. The fact is, the prime minister decided to appoint Danny Danon as Israel’s ambassador to the organization, the man who dared to run against him in elections to head the Likud. Netanyahu’s most important speech each year takes place at the UN General Assembly meeting in September, and he always prepares a surprise for the occasion. He is like the head of the Jewish family following the tradition of hiding a piece of matzah during the Passover dinner for the kids to find. Each year, he finds a new place to hide the afikomen.
Despite the attitude of Netanyahu's right-wing government toward the United Nations, it is shaken to the core every time Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas joins a UN-affiliated organization, usually one no one has ever heard of. It also jumps for joy at any abstention on an anti-Israel resolution, which means fewer votes opposing its policies.
