Leftist Groups Attack President Trump’s Pick for U.S. Amb. to Israel
S.C.’s Alan Clemmons: Ambassador pick will help heal wounds inflicted by
the Obama administration; Will AIPAC come to David Friedman’s corner?
David Friedman with Donald Trump in Manhattan. (photo credit:Courtesy)
Attorney David Friedman, President Donald J. Trump’s nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Israel, has drawn far-reaching and heavily-lobbied opposition from an assemblage of members of a reliably anti-Israel, anti-American consortium. They include Muslim groups, so-called progressive organizations such as Code Pink, and perhaps the leading protagonist of them all: the notorious Jewish pro-Palestinian operatives at JStreet. Indeed, stopping Mr. Friedman’s confirmation is now prominently featured on that group’s homepage.
Many staunch Israel supporters have expressed disappointment with The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (or AIPAC) for not taking an active role in this debate. While this is in keeping with the highly-respected organization’s practice of not lobbying for or against cabinet or other Presidential appointments, the pro-Israel advocates had hoped that the magnitude and import of Mr. Friedman’s nomination and its impact on the U.S.-Israel relationship – which is central to AIPAC’s mission – coupled with the fact that JStreet is out there in direct opposition to his appointment, would perhaps lead AIPAC to address this confirmation process differently.
Speculation among some insiders is that AIPAC may not be thrilled about Mr. Friedman’s outspoken rejection of the failed “Two-State Solution” concept, which is lobbied for and promoted among AIPAC circles, but largely and widely opposed by politically savvy conservatives. President Trump has at times, and particularly in today’s joint Press Conference with Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu (see Video Clip here), seemingly veered away from this concept as the solution to Israeli-Palestinian relations.
Indeed, Trump’s and Friedman’s positions are more in line with the recently upgraded GOP Platform on Israel, which eliminated references to the “Two-State Solution”, a phrase believed by most Republicans and staunch pro-Israel adherents to unnecessarily pressure Israel into dangerous concessions from its already diminutive geographic boundaries without any resulting peace or security.
In the wake of this flurry of anti-Friedman, anti-Israel activity, one of the Jewish nation-state’s best friends, and arguably its greatest supporter among ALL State legislators in the U.S.,South Carolina State Representative Alan Clemmons (R-Myrtle Beach), has penned a powerful Op-Ed in support of Mr. Friedman’s confirmation.
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