Agudath Israel of America, a national Orthodox Jewish organization, applauds President Donald Trump for his decision to pull the United States out of the United Nations Human Rights Council. With this action, our nation is making a strong and unequivocal statement that it will no longer tolerate the UNHRC’s abetting of foreign repression and the abandonment of its mandate to protect human rights around the world.

Indeed, the UNHRC’s embrace of tyrants and its appeasement of rogue nations have made this body complicit in persecution rather than the protector of the persecuted.

And, with its constant condemnation of Israel, and its obsessive attempts to delegitimize her, the Council has become a fertile breeding ground for anti-Semitic hatred and a rallying point for those who seek to give license to that hatred.

It was hoped that U.S. participation in the UNHRC would balance the influence of authoritarian regimes and that America’s voice would temper the Council’s odious statements and actions against Israel. But, despite our nation’s valiant efforts, the character of the UNHRC remains the same, and rather than promoting peace and freedom, it continues to help institutionalize and embolden evil.

We thank Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for his exemplary leadership on this issue and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley for her continued bold and principled advocacy for American values on this world stage.