In pre-Trump Washington, a man like David Friedman would never have come before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as a nominee to be ambassador to Israel. Not after he insulted, in writing, a sitting U.S. president; many members of the Senate, including the Democratic Minority leader; top officials of Jewish organizations, and the entire State…
David Friedman had an early test of his ability to speak diplomatically as he sought to wriggle his way out of the deep hole he dug for himself during years of acerbic far right-wing writing about Israel and the Jewish community. On the two-state solution, Friedman was forced to defend his views as a staunch…
David Friedman doesn’t think J Street, the Anti-Defamation League, or President Obama deserve an apology for his attacks on them. In his prepared opening statement at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Friedman acknowledged “rightfully” criticism of some of his rhetoric. This rhetoric included, among other, calling J Street “kapos” — the Jews who collaborated with…
Protests are nothing new in congressional meetings, but David Friedman’s confirmation hearing brought out an impressive array of hecklers. As Friedman prepared to read his opening statement at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a protestor stood up waving a Palestinian flag and raising the issue of Palestinian refugees. “Mr. Friedman supports the annexation of the…
(JTA) — Five former U.S. ambassadors to Israel who served under both Democratic and Republican presidents said that President Donald Trump’s nominee as envoy is “unqualified for the position. In a letter sent Wednesday to the Senate Foreign Relations committee, which begins confirmation hearings for Trump attorney and bankruptcy expert David Friedman on Thursday, the…
President Trump’s pick for Israel envoy, David Friedman, is expected to apologize for calling liberal American Jews “worse than kapos” at his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, the New York Times reported. Friedman doubled down on the disparaging comments about supporters of J Street, the dovish Israel lobby, in an op-ed last year on the…
Jewish activists are lining up their troops for the battle over confirming David Friedman as America’s next ambassador to Israel. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing on Friedman Thursday and even though he is likely to win the confirmation, liberal groups are launching a full court press to try and block the…
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Letters to the Senate from hundreds of rabbis, and dozens of Holocaust survivors and scholars say the abuse of the term “kapo” by President Donald Trump’s nominee for ambassador to Israel should be a factor in considering his confirmation. An array of liberal Jewish groups organized three separate letters this week to the…
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