Is David Friedman Blowing Off Pledge To Meet With J Street?

By Dave Goldiner March 9, 2017

As David Friedman prepares for a first Senate test of Donald Trump’s nominee to be ambassador to Israel on Thursday, J Street accused him of reneging on a pledge to meet with its leaders.

“Senators and other pro-Israel Americans should know before the final vote on your confirmation whether you stated willingness to meet with those you disagree is merely a ‘hearing room conversation,’ or whether you intend to make good on your representations to lawmakers,” J Street chief Jeremy Ben-Ami told Friedman in a letter.

Politico reported that J Street never heard back from Friedman after he told lawmakers he was open to a meeting.

Friedman faces an initial vote in a Senate committee Thursday on his nomination. Several Democrats have said they will vote against him but Republicans have the votes to approve him.

Friedman once branded J Street “kapos” and called the Anti-Defamation League “morons” for criticizing Israel and Trump.

But he mounted a charm offensive during Congressional hearings, claiming he changed his mind about those charges and asserting that he was open to pursuing a two-state solution, which he had repeatedly derided over the years.

Dave Goldiner is the Forward’s director of digital media. Dave is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades working at newspapers in the United States and Africa. A native New Yorker, Goldiner wrote for the New York Daily News, where he covered some of the biggest stories of our time, including the attacks of September 11, along with thousands of stories of hope and heartbreak. He also studied and worked in Southern Africa and has written for publications in South Africa and Zimbabwe. He holds masters degrees in journalism and public administration from Columbia University. Dave can be reached at goldiner@forward.com, or follow him on Twitter @davegoldiner

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