Press Release: EMET Sends Letter to Senators Urging Them to Confirm David Friedman

(Washington, DC, March 8, 2017) Today, the Endowment for Middle East Truth (EMET) sent a letter to Members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to encourage the Senators to confirm David Friedman as the U.S. ambassador to Israel.

President Trump has nominated David Friedman, a lawyer and ardent supporter of Israel, to serve as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will consider the nomination tomorrow before it is sent to the entire Senate for a floor vote.

A number of leftist groups, such as J Street, have launched a campaign against Mr. Friedman, arguing that he is not suitable for the position due to his opposition to the two-state solution.

These leftists group do not seem to understand the job that Mr. Friedman has been nominated for. As he has unequivocally acknowledged at his confirmation hearings, he represents President Trump and the United States, and President Trump has already stated that he would like to facilitate a negotiated peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

These groups also ignore the fact that the two-state paradigm has continuously failed, and alternative solutions, which have the potential to improve the lives and security of both Israelis and Palestinians, are more feasible. In 2000, 2001, and 2008, Israel offered major land withdrawals. In 2005, the Israelis actually gave up part of Judea and Samaria, and all of the Gaza strip, but none of this has gotten Israel and the Palestinians any closer to the goalpost of a true peace. On the contrary, each and every time Israel makes territorial concessions the Palestinians launch campaigns of terror against innocent Israelis. This is most clearly illustrated by the thousands of rockets from Gaza.

The real problem is that the Palestinians have refused to stop the incitement to violence and murder. Palestinian culture deifies the “shahid,” or the martyr, e.g., the suicide bomber and knife stabber, and demonizes the Israeli and the Jew. The Palestinian Authority (PA) continues to teach its children to want to hate and kill Jews, and continues to provide convicted terrorists and their families with money for their acts of terrorism.

The refusal of the PA to end its incitement is a violation of the Oslo Process. The Palestinians are also violating Oslo by seeking membership in various international agencies, and by attempting to use international organizations to force Israel to give them land without the Palestinians having to agree to implement a real peace. None of these actions demonstrate that the PA is a positive force for peace.

The EMET letter concludes, “the U.S. should not be wedded to the idea of producing another pro-terror radical state in the Middle East. The fact that David Friedman has recognized this fact should not be a reason to critique him, but rather, should be a reason to confirm him as the next U.S. Ambassador to Israel. We urge you to take the above information into account, and to confirm Mr. Friedman’s nomination.”

To read the letter in its entirety, please click here.