Image by YouTube

By Naomi Zeveloff March 7, 2017

President Trump’s pick for Israel envoy donated to a controversial organization that plants Jewish settlers in the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem’s Old City in order to cement Jewish control there, Haaretz reported.

Friedman has given multiple donations to Ateret Cohanim, which owns 59 properties in the Muslim Quarter and East Jerusalem where it has settled some 1,100 Jews, according to Peace Now.

Ateret Cohanim, which means Crown of the Priests, acquires its properties by buying from Muslims or securing their eviction and by acquiring rights to government-seized property. In 1992, Israel’s Justice Ministry found that the government confiscated some Palestinian properties based on unsupported affidavits submitted by Ateret Cohanim.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

American Friends of Ateret Cohanim congratulated Friedman on his nomination, wishing him a “heartfelt Mazal Tov” in a statement.

Friedman is also a supporter of Beit El, a settlement near Ramallah, as the head of American Friends of Beit El Institutions.

Friedman’s ties to the settler movement, which he sought to downplay at his confirmation hearings, have earned him opposition from some liberal Jewish groups.

Friedman is expected to be confirmed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday, after which his appointment will go before the full Senate.

Contact Naomi Zeveloff at [email protected]

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount