A far-right Israeli think tank hired a major Washington lobbying firm to advance a proposal for the United States to withdraw from the United Nations, targeting senior Trump administration officials and members of Congress through the campaign, according to Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
Reviewing U.S. lobbying filings, Haaretz reported that the Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy contracted Mercury Public Affairs to promote a report. The report was co-authored by former Israeli ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan and Misgav’s executive director Asher Fredman.
Titled “From UN Bureaucracy to American Global Leadership,” the report argues that Washington should withdraw from the UN and instead build or work through alternative institutions to advance its interests. Misgav agreed to pay Mercury $5,000 for a one-month engagement that was set to expire on July 24, Haaretz reported.
Under the lobbying agreement, Mercury’s task was to distribute the report among members of Congress and administration officials and arrange meetings for its two authors with relevant congressional and Trump administration figures. The campaign targeted both chambers of Congress, including the foreign affairs, armed services and appropriations committees. The National Security Council, State Department, U.S. Mission to the UN and the White House Office of Management and Budget were also targeted, Haaretz reported.
A second phase of the lobbying effort included a planned three-day Washington visit for Misgav representatives, with meetings scheduled with lawmakers, administration officials, policy experts and think tank representatives. Misgav said the arrangement was limited in scope and aimed to help Fredman present the research findings to policymakers during a short Washington visit.
The lobbying campaign was conducted at a time when the Trump administration has been pursuing a broader policy of withdrawal from international institutions, while maintaining close ties with Israel. However, tensions between Washington and the Israeli government have also grown in recent weeks over U.S.-backed initiatives to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
The report claims the UN is structurally incapable of meaningful reform and accuses the organization of working against the interests of both the United States and Israel. “Nowhere is the politicization and double standards of the organization more evident than in its treatment of Israel,” the authors wrote, according to Haaretz.
The report also targets UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. Israel has long pressured the organization over its operations in Gaza and other parts of the Middle East.
Erdan served as Israel’s ambassador to the UN from 2020 to 2024, concurrently serving as ambassador to the United States for part of that period. During his UN tenure, he became one of the most vocal critics of the organization and its Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, particularly after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza.
After taking office for a second term in January 2025, President Trump moved to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization, UNESCO and the UN Human Rights Council. He also cut funding to UNRWA and withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement. In January of this year, Trump ordered the withdrawal from an additional 66 international organizations and UN bodies, including 31 within the UN system, following a review of U.S. participation and funding.
The lobbying agreement was disclosed under the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires individuals and organizations conducting certain political or promotional activities on behalf of foreign parties to register and publicly disclose their activities.
Misgav said Mercury arranged approximately five meetings with congressional and administration advisors, where Fredman presented the report’s findings. The institute emphasized it no longer has any relationship with Mercury. Misgav said the report’s core focus was a review of what it considers anti-Israel, anti-American and anti-Western activities within various UN bodies. The report also recommended a reassessment of U.S. funding to certain UN agencies.
Misgav rejected any suggestion of its lobbying being linked to political activism, describing itself as an “independent, professional research institution.” According to Haaretz, Misgav received approximately 7 million Israeli shekels (about $2.3 million) in donations in 2024 and 2025, mostly through two U.S. nonprofit organizations whose ultimate donors remain undisclosed.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report