“The Security Council just finished its regular monthly meeting on Middle East issues. It’s the first meeting like that that I’ve attended, and I have to say it was a bit strange. The Security Council is supposed to discuss how to maintain international peace and security. But in our meeting on the Middle East, the discussion was not about Hezbollah’s illegal build up of rockets in Lebanon. It was not about the money and weapons Iran supplies to terrorists. It was not about how we defeat ISIS. It was not about how we hold Bashar Assad accountable for the slaughter of hundreds and thousands of civilians. No, instead the meeting focused on criticizing Israel, the one true democracy in the Middle East. I am new around here, but I understand that’s how the council has operated month after month for decades. I am here to say the United States will not turn a blind eye to this anymore. I am here to underscore the iron-clad support of the United States for Israel.”