Can people power trump US president over choice of ambassador in Israel?

The new US President, Donald Trump, is a vulgar, misogynistic bully who is used to getting his own way and reacts angrily to those who try to stop him from doing so. Now that he is the “free world’s most powerful leader” he might imagine that nothing and no one can prevent him from doing exactly what he wants.

However, a determined Jewish lobby in the US is equally unwavering as it attempts to put a spanner in the presidential works to stop the confirmation of David Friedman as US Ambassador to Israel. Friedman is actually Trump’s bankruptcy lawyer who shares with Jared Kushner and other members of the president’s inner circle probably the most extreme anti-Palestinian views on Capitol Hill. Among his credentials for earning this dubious title are these little gems: he has denied the existence of Palestinian refugees who are recognised under international law; he has insulted liberal Jews by calling them “kapos” — a derogatory term for trusted inmates who supervised Nazi concentration camp prisoners; he has promoted the annexation of the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem; and he has supported the idea of Jerusalem being the capital of the Zionist State, even though Israel’s annexation of the city is not recognised in international law or by the UN.

In addition, says Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP), Friedman sits on the board as Chair of American Friends of Beit El, which is known as one of the oldest and most violent of the illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank. According to JVP literature, the ambassador nominee is “a passionate activist for permanent apartheid and occupation.” Now the group is working alongside others to urge the Senate to use its direct decision-making power to block his appointment. Members of Congress and the US media are also being lobbied to help in the campaign.

“There isn’t a single statement of [Friedman’s] that we’ve been able to find that shows even a modicum of respect for Palestinians or Palestinian human rights,” says JVP’s campaign literature. Part of the open letter people are being urged to sign reads: “We, the undersigned individuals and organisations, call on you to strongly oppose David Friedman’s nomination as US Ambassador to Israel. Friedman’s complete lack of diplomatic experience should be disqualifying itself, but his track-record advocating for extremist Israeli policies is far more distressing.”

Friedman, continues the JVP, is a proponent and funder of illegal, Jew-only Israeli settlements. “He denies the existence of Palestinian refugees, who are recognised under international law, has demonised Jews who advocate for peace, advocated annexation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and endorsed discriminatory screening of Muslim immigrants to the United States.” The latter was suggested by Trump during his election campaign.

According to the JVP, Friedman’s positions “represent the extreme edge of both US and Israeli politics, not the vision of equality, justice, and peace for all people of Israel/Palestine enshrined in international law. We call upon you to strongly oppose Friedman’s nomination as the US Ambassador to Israel through your actions and your words.”

A group of 120 professors of Jewish studies, representing universities and colleges across the United States, has already sent a letter to the Senate urging politicians to vote against the appointment. They refer, among many things, to the offensive language with which he describes members of J Street and the anti-occupation movement as “worse than Kapos”, while describing — somewhat bizarrely, given its pro-Israel stance — the Anti-Defamation League as “a bunch of morons.”

A closer examination of Friedman’s views reveal him to be to the right of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is regarded as the Zionist State’s most extreme right-wing leader to date. Quite how Trump will react to this campaign against his personal friend of 15 years remains to be seen. It will put the US president on a direct collision course with both the doves and hawks on Capitol Hill who may just find favour with the views of voters who fear the consequences of appointing the most hard-right approach to the Palestine-Israel conflict of any US ambassador to Israel since the state was created on occupied Palestinian land in 1948.

The Middle East is volatile and a wrong turn of phrase or careless word can trigger violent reactions on all sides. Diplomacy is not known to be one of Friedman’s key characteristics, although it is easy to see how he rubs along with Trump so well; he has a history of insulting Jews who disagree with him, using some of the most offensive terms possible; and, like his friend in the White House, he has no diplomatic or political work experience to draw upon for the important role of US ambassador.

Like the majority of nations around the world, outwardly at least, the US has long held the view that Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem are illegal and a threat to any hope of peace with the Palestinians. Friedman rejects such a position. Emboldened by Trump’s support, he has already made promises during a summer visit to Israel that “a Trump administration will never pressure Israel into a two-state solution or any other solution that is against the will of the Israeli people” because “they know what’s best for themselves.”

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer is already making light of boasts that Jerusalem will soon be home to the US Embassy and capital of the Zionist State. He issued a statement on Monday saying that “no decisions” on relocating the embassy to Jerusalem have been made, and played down suggestions that such decisions are imminent.

During the 1967 war, Israel seized control of and annexed East Jerusalem — which is predominantly Palestinian — and expanded the boundaries of what it calls its “eternal capital.” America and almost every other country in the world refuse to recognise the annexation and maintain their embassies in or around Tel Aviv.

In his inaugural speech less than a week ago, the new US president pledged, “Today we are transferring power from Washington DC and giving it back to you, the people.” The people, especially those from Jewish Voices for Peace and hundreds of Jewish academics around the US, are about to find out exactly where the power actually does lie as they attempt to block Friedman’s appointment. Trump’s campaign rhetoric will only turn into reality if he can maintain his populist appeal in the process. Friedman is far from a popular choice for ambassador. It will be interesting to see if people power can indeed trump Trump over his extraordinary nomination.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.