"The effort to delegitimize the state of Israel being waged on college campuses and the anti-Israel obsession at the UN are one in the same. They both seek to deny Israel’s right to exist,’’ declared US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikky Haley as she addressed a conference against against the anti-Israel BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement.

The conference, organized by the Israeli Mission to the United Nations together with several groups including the World Jewish Congress, the Zionist Organization of America, Israel Bonds, StandwithUs, CAMERA, B’nai B’rith International, Maccabee Task Force, Hillel International, Students Supporting Israel, Hasbara Fellowships, the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Simon Wiesenthal Center, saw the participation of over 2,000 representatives from various organizations, public officials, as well as pro-Israel activists, diplomats and students. The opening session of the conference was held in the iconic General Assembly Hall of the United Nations.

Ambassador Haley called BDS a “movement away from truth and away from history,” and slammed those who condemn and single out Israel for human rights violations, while ignoring the behavior of countries like Iran, North Korea and Syria. “It makes absolutely no sense and has no connection to any reasonable definition of justice,” she said.

She also boasted of having passed anti-BDS legislation in South Carolina — the first bill of its kind in the US — when she was the state Governor.

“Our state would not do business with people who traffic in hate,” Haley said.

“Love for the Jewish state in South Carolina cuts across” political and religious denominations, she noted. “What other state in the nation…with less than one percent Jewish population gives its residents the opportunity to buy an, ‘I stand with Israel’ license plate?”

Haley was already the star of pro-Israel groups when she spoke earlier this week at the annual policy conference of AIPAC, the main pro-Israel group in the US. Especially when she stated that “the days of Israel-bashing are over.’’ ‘’For anyone who says you can’t get anything done at the UN, they need to know there is a new sheriff in town,” she added.

Israel’s ambassasdor to the United Nations, Danny Danon, welcoming the particpants of the summit, criticized the United Nations anti-Israel bias: "The halls of the UN are now being infiltrated by the boycott movement. The UN’s Human Rights Council is creating a blacklist of companies and corporations operating in parts of Israel. This is pure anti-Semitism, and together with the US, our greatest ally, we will keep fighting until BDS is eliminated.”

“We are here today with a simple message for those who seek to harm the Jewish state and the Jewish people. We will keep fighting until we eliminate BDS completely, from the campuses to the UN, and we will keep fighting until anti-Semitism is finally defeated,” Danon added.

WJC CEO and Executive Vice President Robert R. Singer, who spoke on behalf of WJC President Ronald S. Lauder, declared:.’’

“We must tell all who question Israel’s very right to exist: The State of Israel is not up for negotiation. The State of Israel is here to stay.’’

Pointing to recent measures taken by governments and other institutions against BDS, he added: "Operation Fightback is underway, and we are winning."

‘’Winds of change are blowing even here, at UN Headquarters," he said.