NEW YORK: A right-wing Israeli think tank hired a major Washington lobbying firm to promote a proposal calling for the US to withdraw from the UN, targeting senior officials in the Trump administration and members of Congress, Haaretz reported.
The Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy commissioned Mercury Public Affairs to circulate a report co-authored by Gilad Erdan, former Israeli ambassador to the UN, and Asher Fredman, executive director of Misgav, according to US lobbying disclosures reviewed by the Israeli newspaper.
The report, titled “From UN Bureaucracy to American Global Leadership,” advocates US withdrawal from the international organization and argues that Washington should pursue alternative institutions and arrangements to advance its interests.
According to Haaretz, Misgav agreed to pay Mercury $5,000 for a month-long engagement ending on July 24.
Under the lobbying agreement, Mercury was tasked with distributing the report among lawmakers and officials and arranging meetings between its authors and figures in Congress and the Trump administration.
The campaign targeted both houses of Congress, including foreign affairs, armed services and appropriations committees, as well as the National Security Council, State Department, US Mission to the UN and White House Office of Management and Budget, Haaretz reported.
A second stage envisioned a three-day Washington visit by Misgav representatives for meetings with lawmakers, administration officials, policy experts and think tanks.
The institute said that the arrangement was limited in scope and intended to help Fredman present the research to policymakers during a short visit to Washington.
The lobbying effort comes as the Trump administration has pursued a broader retreat from international institutions, while maintaining close ties with Israel.
Washington and the Israeli government have nevertheless faced growing disagreements in recent weeks over US-backed efforts to end the conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
The report argues that the UN is structurally incapable of meaningful reform and accuses the organization of acting against US and Israeli interests.
“Nowhere are the UN’s politicization and double standards clearer than in its treatment of Israel,” its authors wrote, according to Haaretz.
The document also targets the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which has faced sustained pressure from Israel over its operations in Gaza and elsewhere in the region.
Erdan served as Israel’s ambassador to the UN between 2020 and 2024 and concurrently served for part of that period as ambassador to the US. During his tenure at the UN, he became a prominent critic of the organization and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, particularly following the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and the subsequent war on Gaza.
Since returning to office in January 2025, US President Donald Trump has moved to withdraw Washington from the World Health Organization, UNESCO and the UN Human Rights Council, halted funding for UNRWA and pulled the US out of the Paris climate agreement.
In January, Trump ordered an even broader withdrawal from 66 international organizations and UN entities following a review of US participation and funding, including 31 bodies within the UN system.
The lobbying contract was disclosed under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires individuals and firms undertaking certain political or advocacy activities on behalf of foreign principals to register and disclose details of their work.
Misgav said that Mercury arranged about five meetings with congressional and administration advisers, during which Fredman presented the report’s findings, and stressed that the institute no longer had a relationship with the lobbying firm.
The institute also said the report primarily examined what it described as anti-Israel, anti-American and anti-Western activity within UN institutions and recommended reassessing US funding for some UN bodies.
It rejected any suggestion that the work was connected to political activity, describing itself as an “independent, professional research institute.”
According to Haaretz, Misgav received about 7 million shekels ($2.3 million) in donations in 2024 and 2025, with most of the funding coming anonymously through two US nonprofit organizations.
