US Ambassador to Israel 12-27-2016

27, December 2016                US Ambassador to Israel

President-elect Trump has been widely criticized for selecting Friedman as US ambassador to Israel. Former ambassador, Daniel Kurzer, assailed the appointment stating that Friedman’s appeals to a small minority of Israeli and American extremists.  J Street joined the mounting outrage stating the "this nomination is reckless, putting America’s reputation in the region and credibility around the world at risk."

So who is Friedman and what are his qualifications for such an important diplomatic position? As president of American Friends of Beit El Institutions, he has raised millions of dollars to support illegal Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. According to a tax filing, Trump donated $10,000 to the group in 2003.

Friedman has no diplomatic experience but does have the dubious distinction of serving as bankruptcy attorney for Trump during the past 15 years.

He shares his disdain for international law, supporting the annexation of the entire Palestinian territory. He vigorously opposes a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

Intoxicated by his victory, Trump feels that he has now assumed the role of an autocrat making far right appointments thumbing his nose at career diplomats at the US Foreign Service establishment. Friedman will reinforce fears of Israel’s accelerated move to an apartheid system aggressively annexing more and more Palestinian land.  This sends a chilling message that the US can no longer be counted on to broker a peaceful settlement to the festering Middle-East conflict.