So far, Trump’s choices for his administration have been exemplary. Those selected are an international A-Team, especially in the all-important foreign policy arena.
When the announcement was made on Tuesday that former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has been nominated to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Israel, it was met with great hope and optimism. A friend called to ask me whether or not it was a tradition for the U.S. Ambassador to be Jewish.
The answer is that in recent years, the U.S. Ambassador to Israel has usually been Jewish, but prior to the 1999 appointment of Martin Indyk, a Jewish ambassador was not the standard nor was it a requirement at the State Department.
On that matter, let’s take a step back and analyze whether Israel is better off with a Jewish ambassador or not. Until David Friedman was appointed during Trump’s first term, the career diplomats in that position were more of a headache to Israel than anything else.
The current U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew, is reportedly a good man, and when in New York, a member of the Orthodox Jewish community. But whether he is going to shul or wearing a yarmulke, it’s important to note that he served as Treasury Secretary under Barack Obama and since 2023, served as ambassador to Israel.
Lew advocates for the creation of a Palestinian state in Israel’s heartland and also supports the idea of reaching an agreement that would allow Iran to possess nuclear weapons. So, do you see in this instance any kind of advantage to having a Jewish person in the position of ambassador to Israel? The idea and theory might very well be the reverse.
Indyk, who served in the Clinton administration from 1995 to 1997, then returned to serve under George W. Bush from 2000 to 2001. Indyk was often at loggerheads with Israeli leaders since his top priority seemed to be doing the bidding of the Palestinian Authority with the non-stop American fantasy of a two-state solution. Clearly, more than thirty years later, this is not the basis for any kind of peace agreement.
Many in the Jewish community believed that Trump’s victory last week was going to result in another term for Mr. Friedman to return to Israel as ambassador. But these appointments have to be approved by the Senate, and after Friedman’s last book titled One Jewish State, there’s no way he can dance around the subject of support for two states.
However, publicly promulgating the ideas in his book, One Jewish State, before a Senate committee would amount to nothing more than a major distraction for the second Trump administration. While there may be an important role for Mr. Friedman in the new administration, it will probably be one that does not require public hearings or extensive publicity.
Even though the new Trump appointments are receiving mostly positive reviews (except from the failing legacy media), so far there has been nothing more beneficial and sensational than the Huckabee nomination for U.S. Ambassador to Israel.
Mike Huckabee is a great friend to Israel and an important proponent of a good and healthy U.S.-Israel relationship. Having traveled to Israel and spent time with Mr. Huckabee on missions to Israel over the last decade, it is clear that there is no one better suited for this new role.
On Fox News the other day, the Ambassador-Designate said he was honored to be selected by the President, and the Middle East knows “there’s a new sheriff in town,” and things are about to improve vastly in the region.
The new appointments by Mr. Trump are indicative of the vast change in approach from the President-elect’s first term, when he accepted recommendations from a Washington insider and chose people in key positions that ended up undermining the President’s efforts across the board, and in many cases ended up being fired.
Thankfully, this is not the case this time. With loyalists like Elise Stefanik at the UN, Mike Waltz as National Security Adviser, Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, John Ratcliffe as CIA Director, Governor Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security, Tom Homan as the new Border Czar, Lee Zeldin as EPA administrator, and Pete Hegseth as Defense Secretary, the new team has the Trump imprimatur and features a great combination for success going forward. n
Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.