
Between the chairman of the bar association who resigned in disgrace and a lawyer who collected NIS 600 thousand from a grieving family, a different face suddenly flashed on the news screens on Wednesday of this past week.
Just seeing her face again after two years was wonderful. Nikki Haley. She announced that she is running for the US presidency. Her chances are not high within the GOP and on the off-chance she makes it through, they're not great against the Democrats either, but in announcing her candidacy she officially opened the next race for the White House.
She is a woman, mother, young, Republican, daughter of immigrants from India, outstanding ambassador to the United Nations, speaks with kindness and of course, she is what is commonly known as an "lover of Israel."
But that's the thing. I've been following her for the past few years and this definition is incorrect. There are many lovers of Israel, thank G-d. Friends, partners, leaders who value us. Just this week, Netanyahu flew to meet French President Macron, and the leader of Chad, which opened its first embassy in Israel, came to visit us here. The foreign minister of Greece and the American secretary of state also stopped by. And in the same week, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen made a historic visit to Sudan in preparation for a peace agreement.
But Haley doesn't just love Israel. She reminds Israel of what it stands for and what it's capable of becoming. Sometimes you need someone from the outside to remind you what you've forgotten in the heat of everyday life.
While we argue about the balance between the Jewish and democratic nature of our country, Haley adores this mixture. She has spoken countless times about the fact that tradition and faith are the basis of Israel's economic excellence and creativity.
Without an iota of political correctness, she has said decisive things at the UN that we don't always have the same confidence to utter: "I came out of my first debate in the Security Council. The discussion did not deal with the arming of Hezbollah with illegal missiles in Lebanon. It was not about the money and weapons that Iran provides to terrorists. It wasn't about how we defeat ISIS. It was not about stopping Bashar Assad from massacring hundreds of thousands of civilians. Instead, the discussion focused on criticism of Israel, the only true democracy in the Middle East," Haley said at the time.
And when it comes to the fight against BDS, Haley sees something deeper in this movement: "Whoever boycotts you - does it because they are actually jealous of you - jealous of your success," she points out.
Haley won over Israel a long time ago. Now, she just has the United States to win over.
Opinion piece first published in the Yediot Aharonot newspaper