Five former US ambassadors to Israel say the man President Donald Trump has selected for the post is unqualified and they are urging senators to carefully consider his nomination.
In a letter sent to members of the Foreign Relations Committee, the former diplomats said David Friedman has staked out “extreme, radical positions” and has derided the two-state solution as an “illusory” fix for a non-existent problem.
“We believe the committee should satisfy itself that Mr Friedman has the balance and the temperament required to represent the United States as ambassador to Israel,” they wrote.
The committee is scheduled to meet on Thursday for Friedman’s confirmation hearing.
Trump, during a White House news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, was evasive about endorsing a two-state solution with the Palestinians. That would create an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel and has been the international community’s preferred solution for nearly two decades.
The ambassadors, who served Republican and Democratic presidents, say Friedman accused President Barack Obama and the entire State Department of anti-Semitism. They say he’s also characterised supporters of J Street, a liberal Jewish group, as “kapos,” the Jews who co-operated with Nazis during the Holocaust.
Read the full article by Richard Lardner, Associated Press at The Courier Mail.