Former US envoy to the United Nations Nikki Haley prays at Western Wall

Ex-ambassador, who won praise during her tenure for defending Israel, arrives in Jewish state for conference on US-Israeli ties

By ToI Staff 26 June 2019, 6:41 pm 1

Edit

Former US ambassador to UN Nikki Haley prays at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City on June 26, 2019. (Oren Ben Hakon/Israel Hayom)

Former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley prayed at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City on Wednesday after arriving in Israel for a conference.

Haley, who stepped down in December, won plaudits in Israel and among the pro-Israel community in the US while in office for her staunch backing of the Jewish state at the United Nations.

While praying at the holy site, Haley placed a note in the Western Wall, which she also visited during a trip to Israel two years ago as the American envoy to the UN.

Haley is in Israel to take part in the “Israel Hayom Forum for US-Israel Relations.” Israel Hayom is owned by Sheldon Adelson, a casino mogul and major donor to the Republican Party.

Among the major American initiatives and moves at the UN during her tenure were the decision to pull out of the Human Rights Council, ending funding for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, and defending US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.