Reject Trump's ambassador to Israel
David Friedman is a poor and dangerous choice as ambassador to Israel, and I urge the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee not to approve his nomination. The U.S. ambassador to Israel holds an important and strategic position in the U.S. diplomatic force. That person must support American policy in a dangerous part of the world, and he should not carry the baggage of expressed personal positions that are counter to the best American interests in the region. The occupier of this post must be experienced in diplomatic affairs. David Friedman fails on all these counts, in particular:
1. He has no diplomatic experience.
2. He is hostile to the two-state solution, referring to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria — the term used by those in Israel who support the annexation of the West Bank — a move that would consequently turn Israel into an apartheid state.
3. Mr. Friedman aligns himself with the Israeli settlement movement. Note that nearly all nations in the world, as well as the World Court, consider Israeli settlements in the West Bank to be illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Criticism of Israeli settlement expansion has been a U.S. position for decades, and it is widely accepted that this expansion stands in the way of a peaceful settlement in the region. Furthermore, Friedman heads an organization that has raised millions of dollars to support a settlement in the West Bank, Bet El, labeled as illegal even by the Israeli judicial system.
4. Mr. Friedman does not represent American best interests, and does not represent the positions of a majority of American Jews. (According to a 2013 Pew Centers Poll, only 17 percent of American Jews say that continued settlement building helps Israel’s security).
Most thoughtful Americans, Jewish members of Congress, and a majority of American Jews see the nomination of David Friedman as both dangerous and out of step with any movement toward peace in the Middle East. I have lived in Israel, and I know that the selection of David Friedman represents a slap in the face to many Israelis that I know who have devoted their lives to a peaceful future.
Neff is a resident of Whitefish.