Which Members of Congress are Expressing Concerns About Friedman?

“Trump’s pick of Friedman as US Envoy to Israel is an affront to US policies on settlements and a two-state solution. He has called American Jews who disagree with him kapos. An intolerant bigot of the first order.”

The statement was posted here.

Mr. Friedman’s radical hardline positions place him far outside the mainstream of both American and Israeli policy, and of American Jewry.

— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) December 16, 2016

Washington, DC — In response to President-elect Donald Trump’s decision to choose David Friedman as his nominee for ambassador to Israel, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-04) released the following statement:

“The ambassador to Israel plays a vital role in every administration. Before taking on the position, both James Cunningham and Daniel Shapiro shared a combined 35 years of foreign policy experience. In contrast, David Friedman, President-elect Trump’s choice for the position, was his bankruptcy lawyer and lacks any foreign policy experience.

“From his blind support for settlements in the West Bank and flagrant opposition to a two-state solution to his unconscionable and frighteningly casual use of holocaust imagery to vilify progressive American Jews, Mr. Friedman lacks the experience and temperament necessary to serve as our nation’s ambassador to Israel.

“Now, more than ever, we need to work together with our partners abroad and at home to ensure the protection and survival of the Jewish State. I urge the president-elect to reconsider this appointment and instead focus on a qualified candidate who can work with all sides to stabilize the region.”

The statement was originally posted here.

December 19, 2016

Today, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky released the following statement after the announcement that President-elect Donald Trump will nominate David Friedman as United States Ambassador to Israel:

“David Friedman is wholly unfit and completely unqualified to serve as our country’s ambassador to Israel,” said Representative Schakowsky. “He has a long record of extremist statements in opposition to a two-state solution and in support of settlement expansion in the West Bank. These positions are in direct opposition to long-standing official U.S. policy held by both Republican and Democratic Administrations. Further, they go against the views of the majority of American Jews who believe that a two-state solution is vital for Israel’s future as a democratic home for the Jewish people. Mr. Friedman has been viciously uncompromising, calling Jews who support a two-state solution ‘worse than kapos,’ using a Holocaust-era term for Jews who cooperated with Nazis.

At a time when we need an ambassador to Israel who has demonstrated the highest level of diplomatic skills, President-elect Trump has named a bankruptcy lawyer with no foreign policy credentials; an individual who has antagonized and insulted both Jews and Arabs with his far-right statements and divisive rhetoric. His appointment would make a very dangerous situation even worse.

With this nomination, President-elect Trump risks upending regional stability, makes a permanent peace agreement even more difficult to obtain, and threatens the security of Israel. I urge the Senate to swiftly reject this confirmation.”

The statement was originally posted here.

Israeli Amb must be a diplomat as he is like a fiddler on the roof. Reject #Friedman! Dangerous for 2-state solution & peace for #Israel.

— Steve Cohen (@RepCohen) December 20, 2016

“Senator Gillibrand has serious concerns about David Friedman’s nomination and will be looking to hear those concerns addressed during his confirmation hearings.”

The original statement was posted here.

“The policy of trying to box in Netanyahu and force him out of the two-state solution, which is the official policy of his government, is not something that the Senate is going to want to see,” Sherman said. “What we don’t need is someone playing a foreigner’s role in Israeli politics, trying to egg on Israeli into a belief that somehow they can announce to the world that they are permanently going to govern millions of Palestinians but somehow not let them vote.” Sherman compared the idea of abandoning the two-state solution to similar notions raised in the past by Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Sherman was quoted in an article in The Forward, which can be accessed here.