An interview with Israel's outgoing Ambassador to the UN...

An interesting answer by Gabriela Shalev...

You have won great respect and admiration among your colleagues at the UN. How does that jibe with what you have describe as a difficult situation?

"Israel's situation at the UN has always been complicated, and even difficult. First and foremost, that results from the automatic majority that consolidates against it, a bloc which new, undemocratic states have recently joined. The difficulty stems from the hypocrisy and double standards that rule the UN. Things that are said to us behind the scenes are completely different from what is uttered in public. Take, for instance, concerns about a nuclear Iran, which are shared not only by Western countries, but also by Arab states. The same thing applies to Hamas terror. Representatives of states that publicly attack our actions against Hamas make very different statements in private discussions. After the UN session about Operation Cast Lead, ambassadors from various countries who delivered speeches denouncing Israel came up to me and said: 'I wish Israel would deliver a mortal blow to Hamas.'

"With regard to appreciation of my work as an ambassador, it did not take long for me to grasp that I have to do what I regard to be right, and not what critics and commentators decree to be the truth. I have my own internal compass, and I acted according to it and my conscience." When you were selected to serve as ambassador to the United Nations, you lacked diplomatic experience, and were a stranger to the labyrinth of international diplomacy.

"I think that precisely the lack of diplomatic experience helped me fashion discrete work procedures, and act in quiet channels, behind the scenes. To a great extent, I acted according to old rules of diplomacy."