Washington – The leaders of the largest branch of American Judaism declared their opposition Friday to the combative attorney President Donald Trump selected to be his envoy to Israel, citing his “extreme views” and dearth of professional foreign policy experience.
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The liberal Union for Reform Judaism said in a statement that David Friedman is the wrong person for the job at a critical time. The group, which is the largest association of synagogues in America, said it has never before opposed the nomination of an ambassador to Israel.
“There can be no doubt that David Friedman loves Israel or that he has an extraordinarily close relationship with President Trump, but those are not the essential qualifications of a U.S. ambassador to Israel,” the group said . His background and temperament make it more likely he’ll “inflame divisions” rather than bridge divides, it said.
Their objection marks the second significant denunciation this week of Friedman’s nomination. Five former U.S. ambassadors to Israel, who served Democratic and Republican presidents, called Friedman unfit for the post in a letter to members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Friedman, who worked as Trump’s bankruptcy lawyer, testified Thursday before the committee and sought to repair the damage done by his caustic statements against those who don’t share his hard-line pro-Israel views. Friedman publicly apologized for past remarks and pledged to be “respectful and measured” should he be confirmed by the Republican-led Senate as Trump’s envoy to the Jewish state.
He also shifted away from past positions, such as declaring the two-state solution to peace between Israelis and Palestinians as an “illusory” fix in search of a non-existent problem. The two-state solution has been official U.S. policy since 2002, although Trump this week refused to explicitly endorse the strategy and said he could accept a one-nation solution to the long and deep dispute between Palestinians and Israel.
The son of an Orthodox rabbi, Friedman has been a fervent supporter of Israeli settlements and a staunch defender of Israel’s government. He also runs a nonprofit that raises millions of dollars for Beit El, a settlement of religious nationalists near Ramallah in the West Bank. Beit El runs a right-wing news outlet and a yeshiva whose dean has provocatively urged Israeli soldiers to refuse orders to uproot settlers from their homes.
But the Union for Reform Judaism said it simply can’t accept that Friedman’s “moderated position as expressed in his confirmation hearing replaces a long and detailed history that he has on Israel, both in his stated comments and his philanthropy.”
The group said he has “invested significant dollars in support of the settlements and a vision of Israel that we believe endangers both American and Israeli security and other interests in the region.”
These are not the Jews that voted for Trump…. Ignore them and confirm David Friedman
The reform movement is true to form as when they made their platform in the mid 1800s ,they were apposed to anything that had to do with the rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem and called their places of prayer ‘temple’.They were against the return to the holy land also.
Awww….
TOO BAD
Kerry, Clinton, Albright , and the five failures that signed the letter against him, have nothing to show for their collective efforts
Thousands of miles have been logged, countless meetings ,and conferences, have been scheduled and held with absolutely nothing to show for them. They should tuck their tails between their legs and slink off into the night
Time for some new tactics
Reshaim.
so what ..they are a dying group and play no important role in Israel or anything really important to the Jewish people.
“Largest Branch Of American Reform Judaism Opposes Trump Envoy Pick”
They also oppose Judaism.
Bottom line-how much did its members contribute to the Trump campaign and how much to Hillary’s? The answer will show why they don’t want Friedman- they want to make the President fail in his reworking of the Middle East mess created by his predecessor.
The statement issued by the Reform movement, means bupkis. I remember, back in 1962, when another large Reform group tried to pressure President Yitzchak Ben-Zvi not to approve the appeal of Eichmann (Y’mach shimo levracha), and prevent his execution. Fortunately, Ben-Zvi ignored them, and Eichmann was hanged.
The Reform Rabbus and their uber liberal congregants are out of control.
Their quest to be PC will be used by the enemies of Israel as a propaganda tool to delegitimize Israel. These people live in a liberal world where everyone is good and fair and we should all join hands, sing Kumbaya and the world will be a perfect place.
I guess Mr Friedman is just too Jewish and too pro Israel to suite their liberal love fest agendas. Do not confuse the Reform and liberal madness with the true feelings of many secular Jews who have strong conservative values and total support for Israel and President Trump.