Mercury Public Affairs Hired by Israeli Think Tank to Lobby Washington for Full UN Withdrawal

Mercury retained for $5,000 one-month engagement to distribute a strategic report to Congress, the Abraham Accords Caucus, and the Trump administration. The lead author has already testified on Capitol Hill.

Mercury Public Affairs has been retained by a Jerusalem-based national security think tank to push the United States toward full withdrawal from the United Nations.

The Misgav Institute for National Security and Zionist Strategy hired Mercury beginning June 24, 2026, for a one-month engagement at $5,000. The scope: distribute a co-authored strategic report and arrange meetings with key Senate and House committees, the Abraham Accords Caucus, and executive branch officials.

The engagement was led by Mercury senior VP Bill Cortese, a former advisor to Rep. Elise Stefanik. Mercury also organized a three-day Washington engagement program in late July — briefing materials, message guidance, logistics, and direct introductions to policymakers.

The Report Mercury Was Paid to Distribute

The document at the center of the campaign: "From UN Bureaucracy to American Global Leadership: A Strategy for Advancing American Interests by Disengaging from a Failed UN."

Co-authored by Gilad Erdan — Israel's ambassador to the United Nations from 2020 to 2024 — and Asher Fredman, Misgav's executive director and director for Israel at the Abraham Accords Peace Institute.

The full report is publicly available: Read the full study here.

The numbers:

U.S. taxpayers provided $14.3 billion to the UN system in 2024 — roughly 28 percent of all government contributions, equal to the combined contributions of 183 other member states. More than 40,000 mandates adopted by UN bodies. 86 percent lack sunset clauses. Documentation processing alone costs approximately $360 million annually — about 10 percent of the regular budget. Only 40 percent of UN entities have strategic plans. Just 30 percent connect resources to results.

Three-Phase Disengagement

Phase one — zero automatic funding. Congress establishes a presumption that no UN contribution moves without specific authorization — amount, purpose, duration, safeguards. The U.S. should be prepared to let its General Assembly vote lapse.

Phase two — replace UN functions entirely. Humanitarian delivery, global health, security coordination, and counterterrorism rebuilt through bilateral agreements, vetted NGOs, and mission-specific coalitions — outside the UN system.

Phase three — enforce accountability. Deny or revoke visas for UN officials supporting terrorism or targeting U.S. allies. U.S. courts should not recognize UN privileges in terror-related or serious criminal cases. UNRWA singled out for potential terrorism-related sanctions.

From Lobbying to Congressional Testimony

The campaign has already moved from distribution to testimony. On July 22, 2026, Fredman appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on "Abraham Accords 2.0." His argument: the U.S. cannot simultaneously fund the UN and pursue regional integration with Israel and Arab allies.

"The United Nations is today perhaps the most globally influential actor working to delegitimize and promote boycotts of Israel, while whitewashing terror and rejectionism," Fredman told the committee.

Mercury's Role in Policy Advocacy

Mercury Public Affairs is one of Washington's highest-profile government relations firms, with deep ties across both parties. The Misgav engagement — small in dollar terms at $5,000 — illustrates a growing pattern: foreign policy think tanks retaining U.S. lobbying firms not for traditional government relations but for report distribution and policymaker access.

The engagement was registered under FARA — the Foreign Agents Registration Act, which requires disclosure when U.S. firms represent foreign principals in political or quasi-political activities. Misgav received approximately $2.3 million in donations during 2024–2025, with most funding arriving anonymously through U.S. nonprofit organizations, according to Haaretz.

Mercury's history with high-profile engagements — including the Walmart surveillance episode that became one of the most studied PR ethics cases in modern communications — positions the firm as a operator that takes on high-risk mandates where other firms pass.

The report's closing argument frames the pitch: "Disengagement from the UN does not mean America is leaving the world. It means America is leaving failed structures."

Mercury delivered the message. Congress is now hearing it.