Of the many fundamental flaws that characterize the United Nations, one is that, on the 47-member Human Rights Council (UNHRC), China, Cuba, and Qatar have the same vote as the U.S., UK, or Finland. Another is that an entire UN agency is dedicated to perpetuating the Israel-Palestinian conflict, running schools that indoctrinate pupils into hating Jews while using them as human shields for Hamas rocket batteries. Another is that the UN’s permanent, professional staff is rife with anti-Semites. Take the all-too-typical case of Craig Mokhiber. David May and Richard Goldberg write:

Craig Mokhiber heads the New York section of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which oversees the UNHRC. On Twitter, Mokhiber has falsely accused the Jewish state of “genocidal cruelty” and of committing “ongoing genocide,” “race-based slaughter,” “apartheid,” and “ethnic cleansing.” But that’s just par for the course. Mokhiber is currently in the spotlight because UN Watch—an NGO dedicated to accountability at Turtle Bay—issued a report showing that Mokhiber wants to block the UN from endorsing a widely-used definition of anti-Semitism, a key step in the process of rooting out anti-Semitism at the UN.

The Biden administration is a bit player in this drama, which is part of the problem. It promised that deeper and more consistent engagement with UN bodies would promote reform, but that hasn’t happened. The Mokhiber affair suggests it is past time for the Biden administration and Congress to threaten to withhold U.S. funding from any UN body found to be engaging in anti-Semitism.

Every year, the president requests and Congress appropriates upwards of a billion dollars to the United Nations and its various agencies and operations. That money should not be handed over as a blank check. Instead, conditions should be added to tie U.S. funding to any UN organization on whether that organization or its officials engage in anti-Semitism. American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize the world’s oldest hatred.

For more than a year, the Iran-backed Houthis have been launching drones and missiles at ships traversing the Red Sea, as well as at Israeli territory, in support of Hamas. This development has drastically curtailed shipping through the Suez Canal and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, driving up trade prices. This week, the Trump administration began an extensive bombing campaign against the Houthis in an effort to reopen that crucial waterway. Burcu Ozcelik highlights another benefit of this action:

The administration has a broader geopolitical agenda—one that includes countering China’s economic leverage, particularly Beijing’s reliance on Iranian oil. By targeting the Houthis, the United States is not only safeguarding vital shipping lanes but also exerting pressure on the Iran-China energy nexus, a key component of Beijing’s strategic posture in the region.

China was the primary destination for up to 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports in 2024, underscoring the deepening economic ties between Beijing and Tehran despite U.S. sanctions. By helping fill Iranian coffers, China aids Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in financing proxies like the Houthis. Since October of last year, notable U.S. Treasury announcements have revealed covert links between China and the Houthis.

Striking the Houthis could trigger broader repercussions—not least by disrupting the flow of Iranian oil to China. While difficult to confirm, it is conceivable and has been reported, that the Houthis may have received financial or other forms of compensation from China (such as Chinese-made military components) in exchange for allowing freedom of passage for China-affiliated vessels in the Red Sea.