Orthodox Jew, critical of Netanyahu and Trump, may be new US ambassador to Israel

Former U.S. treasury secretary Jack Lew, an Orthodox Jew who served as Obama’s chief of staff, has expressed harsh criticism of both Netanyahu and Trump’s pro-Israel moves.

By World Israel News Staff

Former U.S. treasury secretary Jack Lew is the Biden administration’s frontrunner for the position of ambassador to Israel, several Israeli reports said on Sunday.

The Walla news site cited anonymous American officials as saying that while President Joe Biden has yet to make a final decision, Lew — an Orthodox Jew who served in various positions under presidents Clinton and Obama — is the sole candidate undergoing an in-depth background check.

Other potential candidates previously mentioned in Washington circles are former Reps. Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) and Steve Israel (D-N.Y.).

In a press briefing last month, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken alluded to the administration’s plans to nominate an ambassador to Israel prior to the November 2024 presidential race.

Blinken charged Senate Republicans with hindering the approval of several of Biden’s nominees, stating, “by the end of the summer, we expect Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Lebanon will all be without confirmed U.S. ambassadors.”

Ambassador Thomas Nides cited personal reasons when he revealed his exit in May, highlighting his absence from his family who did not come to Israel with him.

Lew, who served as Obama’s chief of staff, has been critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the past, including denouncing the Israeli premier’s decision to address Congress in 2015 prior to the inking of the nuclear deal with Iran.

“I think that was a huge mistake for Israel. A, it wasn’t going to work, B, it contributed to a trend of Israel identifying on a partisan basis when for most of 70 years there was no question that both parties could be pro-Israel,” Lew said in a 2017 interview with the Jewish Insider.

He also condemned former president Donald Trump’s decision to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, saying that the U.S.’ recalcitrance to do so until then “preserved the possibility of having a negotiated agreement that will produce ultimately some day a just and lasting peace with two states, [which] is the higher value.”

Doubling down, Lew said that it when it came to preserving both Israel’s democracy and its security, “there is no pathway other than a two state solution.”

“The more you hear talk about a one state solution, the more it means it’s not a democratic state. That is not the Israel that I want for my grandchildren to love,” Lew said.