As the Senate Foreign Relations Committee prepares to vote on Thursday on the confirmation of David Friedman as U.S. ambassador to Israel, liberal pro-Israel advocacy group J Street is demanding a meeting with President Donald Trump's nominee, Politico reported on Wednesday.
J Street said Friedman had promised senators that he would meet with the group, but has ignored the organization's invitations.
In a letter to Friedman, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said the nominee must hold the meeting before he is confirmed to prove that he willing to engage with advocacy groups that disagree with his politics.
The letter stressed the importance of the meeting, saying "Senators and other pro-Israel Americans should know before the final vote on your confirmation whether you stated willingness to meet with those you disagree is merely a 'hearing room conversation,' or whether you intend to make good on your representations to lawmakers."
Haaretz reported that Friedman had said J Street was worse than kapos, called the Anti-Defamation League "morons" and said former President Barack Obama was antisemitic.
Progressive Jewish organization have reportedly urged senators to vote against his confirmation for what they consider his extremism and his opposition to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They presented senators with a petition signed by 40,000 individuals opposed to the choice of Friedman as ambassador.
A New York Daily News editorial called Friedman, who has no diplomatic experience, unqualified for the position and his nomination be rejected.
"Naming someone with such extreme views and an aggressive temperament to serve as a diplomat in one of the world's most sensitive regions is a recipe for disaster both for American and Israeli interests," the editorial stressed. "In the complex tinderbox of the Middle East, Friedman's words and actions have the potential to provide a spark that could ignite further tensions."
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