Siding With Bannon, ZOA Calls For Ousting Of McMaster
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Nathan Guttman August 10, 2017
Wading into the internal divides inside the Trump White House, the Zionist Organization of America issued a report on Wednesday that was highly critical of National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster.
The report, first leaked exclusively to Breitbart, supports claims raised by right-wing activists aligned with White House chief strategist Steve Bannon that McMaster is biased against Israel and does not support Trump’s nationalist foreign policy.
“The ZOA thus urges President Trump to remove General McMaster from his current position and reassign him to another position where he can do no further harm on these critical national security issues,” the report concludes. “General McMaster should not maintain a position where he can continue to undermine President Trump’s policies on Iran, Israel and the fight against ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ – a term that General McMaster believes should not even be used.”
The ZOA’s case against McMaster focuses on his decision to fire several NSC staffers who held hawkish views on Iran, as well as on several instances in which, adhering to longstanding U.S. policy, McMaster spoke of “Palestinian self-determination” and would not state that the Western Wall was part of Israel. The report is based heavily on a Facebook post by Jerusalem Post columnist Caroline Glick, as well as on other from right-wing media articles.
Dan Shapiro, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel under President Barack Obama, responded to the ZOA’s report on Twitter, calling the claims against McMaster “baloney” and said they were merely “a cover for taking sides in the White House personnel wars.”
Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman
I’m personally matching all gifts to the Forward, up to $36,000. Can I match your gift now?
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
