The World Jewish Congress and Israel’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations co-hosted a special conference on the delegitimization of Israel, at the UN headquarters in New York on March 29. The annual Ambassadors Against BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement) summit brought together over 2,000 students, dignitaries, public officials, diplomats and opinion makers.
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, who was the first US governor to sign into law anti-BDS legislation, addressed the conference participants at the opening plenary session in the General Assembly Hall. Ambassador Haley said, “Silence is weakness, silence is defeat,” Danon said. “We are all here to say we cannot, we will not, be silent.”
In March 2017 Elie Hirschfeld and his wife Sarah we were invited to the home of Israel Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon, a neighbor and friend. There, they attended a reception with Nikki Haley. Elie Hirschfeld said, “There is no cause more important to me than Israel’s long-term vitality, security and sovereignty and I am proud to be a supporter of this mission and those driving it forward.”
The company he keeps, reveals some of the most important and highly valued causes, Elie Hirschfeld supports – social justice, economic prosperity, health and culture and Israeli international relations.
Danny Danon was a Member of Israel’s Knesset from 2009-2015, served as Deputy Speaker, Chair of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and a member of the Labor, Welfare and Health Committee, House, Constitution, Law and Justice, Foreign Affairs and Defense, Education, Culture, and Sports Committee, and Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs, as well as on the Committee on the Status of Women and Gender Equality and the Committee on the Rights of the Child.
In May 2015 Mr. Danon was appointed Minister of Science, Technology, and Space, serving until his appointment in August 2015 as Israel Ambassador to the United Nations.
Elie Hirschfeld strongly supports Danon and Haley, who spoke forcefully about the importance of efforts to change the tone at the United Nations, and the need to continually strive for awareness of issues surrounding BDS, and support world leaders in the United States, Israel and beyond.