U.S. Ambassador To Israel Asked State Dept. To Stop Using The Word ‘Occupation’

Image by Forward Montage

By Nathan Guttman December 26, 2017

The United States’ ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, tried earlier this year to get the State Department to stop using the word “occupation” when referring to Israel’s presence in the West Bank.

As first reported by the Israeli Broadcasting Authority on Tuesday, Friedman asked career diplomats at the State Department to seek alternatives for the terms “occupation” and “Israeli-occupied territories.” He suggested using the term “West Bank,” which Friedman described as more neutral.

Friedman’s request was initially turned down by officials at the State Department, but upon his insistence, the department agreed to discuss the issue.

A State Department official said in response that there is no change in U.S. policy regarding the West Bank, and a spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Israel called the report “misleading” and “twisted.”

Since being appointed by President Trump to serve as U.S. ambassador to Israel, Friedman has made clear that his views don’t always fall in line with long-standing State Department policies. He argued in an interview that Israel only occupies only two percent of the West Bank, and has refused to embrace a two-state solution as the preferred outcome for negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.

Contact Nathan Guttman at guttman@forward.com or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO