[SanDiegoUnionTribune] President Trump's ambassador to Israel has riled congressional Democrats for what they say is an effort to "politicize" the U.S.-Israeli relationship. David Friedman, who was formerly one of Trump's bankruptcy lawyers, was quoted in an Israeli newspaper as saying Republicans were a better friend to Israel than Democrats.the truth hurts
He was apparently basing that opinion, at least in part, on the Trump administration's decision to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed holy city of Jerusalem, as Israel wanted.
and all previous Preznits promised, but didn't deliver
| Truly. Israel annexed the Old City after they conquered it in the 1967 Six Day War. Others may be disputing it, but it nonetheless has been annexed. And, ya know, every other country in the world houses embassies in their capitols, with consulates elsewhere in the country as needed, not the reverse. |
He said that he wanted the issue of U.S.-Israeli relations to be bipartisan, and would work to keep it that way, but that a "large Democratic constituency" was "not pro-Israel."
Democrats, he said, refuse to acknowledge "that they have not been able to create support within their constituency for Israel at the same levels that the Republicans have."
Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland on Friday became the latest of several Democrats, including some who are Jewish, to denounce Friedman's comments. They demand that his remarks be investigated and perhaps even that Friedman be recalled.
The ambassador's statements were "wrong, insensitive, and demonstrate his ill-preparedness to be a suitable diplomat to one of our most important allies and friends in the world," Cardin said.
A senior member of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, Cardin said the remarks represented a "troubling and unfortunate setback" for
Rep. Eliot L. Engel of New York, the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Relations Committee, branded Friedman's statements "outrageous." "Diplomacy and partisan politics are incompatible," Engel said. "If Mr. Friedman doesn't understand that, he should come home."
"Except when Democrats do it"
Rep. Sander M. Levin (D-Mich.) said the ambassador's "harmful" words undermine "the necessary efforts to sustain bipartisan support for Israel's security."