by Rep. Julio Gonzalez, M.D., J.D.

Being the only person in a huge room to raise your hand on a vote must carry with it some element of intimidation, especially when you just saw every voting hand go up against you.

Such was the situation for Ambassador Nikki Haley on Monday, December 18, 2017, when she cast the sole and negating vote at the United Nations Security Council on a resolution presented by Egypt requiring the United States to rescind its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

However, what was at stake was nothing short of the erosion of American sovereignty at the hands of a dysfunctional and decidedly hostile international organization.

That the United Nations would entertain a resolution telling one of its members what it may recognize as another’s capital is amongst the most arrogant parliamentary maneuvers in its ugly, beleaguered history. In fact, it is the very type of resolution motivating Americans to demand that all financial support be withdrawn from the U.N.

But unlike other years where the United States passively participated in the United Nation’s political antics, Haley would have none of it. Not only would the Ambassador confidently raise her hand as the sole dissenting voice in the world, she then went on to point out the absolute arrogance of the resolution she was opposing.

But the indefatigable Haley would not stop there. In a show of force and of a return of a vibrant American presence, she warned those listening that the United States would not forget those taking positions contrary to America’s and Israel’s interests; positions taken by countries like England, Japan, and France. Her message was delivered resolutely and in a tone that carried with it the full strength and authority of the United States of America. “What we witnessed here today at the Security Council is an insult,” she said. “It won’t be forgotten.”

Interestingly, the matter is not yet resolved, as on December 21, the United Nations will be considering a second resolution, this one brought by Palestine, aiming to censure the United States for recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and one that the United States will be powerless to stop with its veto power. Of this, Ambassador Haley wrote, “As you consider your vote, I want you to know that the President and U.S. take this vote personally.”

And consider this one very disturbing wrinkle. If the United Nations is willing to force its will upon one of its members to the point of coercing a change upon that member’s opinion about another’s capital, just how far is the United Nations willing to go in eroding the independence of any of those member nations?

It may be time to put that real estate in Manhattan to better use, say, a roach motel.

Dr. Julio Gonzalez is an orthopaedic surgeon and lawyer living in Venice, Florida. He is the author of The Federalist Pages and serves in the Florida House of Representatives. He can be reached through www.thefederalistpages.com to arrange a lecture or book signing.