Jewish Groups, Democrats Welcome Biden Pick for US Ambassador to Israel While Republicans Criticize Record

Andrew Bernard

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US President Joe Biden has nominated former US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, pictured here, to serve as the American ambassador to Israel. Photo: Alchetron.

US President Joe Biden announced on Tuesday that he will nominate former US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew as his ambassador to Israel in a move welcomed by Democrats and Jewish groups but challenged by some House Republicans.

Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), an outspoken pro-Israel voice in the US Congress, told The Algemeiner that he looks forward to the confirmation of a new ambassador to “America’s greatest friend — the state of Israel.”

“The US-Israel relationship, as critical as ever, would be best served by a swift Senate confirmation of a new US ambassador,” Torres said.

Before heading the US Treasury Department under former President Barack Obama, Lew served as Obama’s chief of staff and as director of the Office of Management and Budget in the administrations of both Obama and Bill Clinton.

Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told The Algemeiner that as a political insider, Lew is a “Washington choice” who would also be in good standing with the Israelis.

“We’re talking about a guy who’s got years of experience. He understands the inside of the US government. He understands the bureaucracy. He understands the players,” Schanzer said. “The Israelis have worked closely in the past with the Treasury Department on designations of Iranian entities, Hezbollah entities, Hamas entities, etc. So he’s no stranger to the Israel file. And of course, he’s also a devout Jew. So he will be understood by many Israelis. He will speak to those that wear kippot. They will have an understanding of who he is even before he arrives.”

Meanwhile, the Orthodox Union said in a statement that Lew, himself an Orthodox Jew, is a “seasoned negotiator and dedicated public servant” who would help foster deeper US-Israel ties. American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch said separately that Lew was an “exceptional choice” and that this was an “outstanding nomination” by Biden.

However, some Republicans in the US House of Representatives have criticized Lew for his involvement in Obama-era policies they consider dangerous for Israel — such as finalizing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official name for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and not vetoing a United Nations Security Council resolution that criticized Israeli settlement construction.

Last week, Reps. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) and Max Miller (R-OH) led a letter with six other members of Congress urging Biden to reconsider Lew’s then-prospective nomination, saying that he was one of the “chief architects” of the Iran nuclear deal.

“This deal, which failed to constrain Iran’s nuclear production, was one of the greatest US foreign policy disasters of the 21st century,” the letter said. “However, the country that suffered the most as a result of the Iran nuclear deal was Israel, as Iran has stated repeatedly it intends to use a nuclear weapon to destroy Israel. Despite the harm he has caused to American and Israeli national security, Lew is apparently being rewarded with an important ambassadorship.”

Tenney repeated her criticism of the nomination on Tuesday.

“Jack Lew has proven he is the wrong man for the job and this nomination is reckless,” she posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “At a time when the relationship between the US & Israel is of utmost importance, we need an ambassador that works to reaffirm our nation’s unfailing support for Israel.”

Lew’s nomination comes at a challenging moment in US-Israel relations, as Biden has been vocally critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposed judicial reforms and his policies in the West Bank.

While Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen welcomed Lew’s nomination on Tuesday, Lew’s predecessor Tom Nides faced extensive criticism from Israeli politicians who accused him of intervening in Israel’s domestic politics.

“I say to the American ambassador, slam the breaks on yourself and mind your own business,” Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli said in February regarding Nides’ call for the Israeli government to modify its judicial reform initiative. “You’re not the sovereign here. We’d be happy to debate with you international or security affairs, but respect our democracy.”

Lew will also likely be involved in the ongoing negotiations to strike a deal to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, but Schanzer said that the biggest hurdles to such a deal are Saudi Arabia’s demands for a US-Saudi defense pact, the Saudi request to enrich its own uranium, and getting the Israeli government to agree to concessions to the Palestinians.

“The things that the Saudis are asking for from the American side are already very challenging,” Schanzer said. “And then after that comes the question of what the Israelis are willing to give up. The coalition partners in this government are likely not going to be willing to make any significant concessions, but Netanyahu will. And that is ultimately the thing to watch — [Netanyahu] himself.”

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