Obama is reportedly making moves on Israel to preempt Donald Trump — and his ambassador to Israel


When Secretary of State John Kerry laid out the Obama administration's vision for Israel and Palestine on Wednesday, he did so somewhat in vain. "It is unclear what Mr. Kerry hopes to achieve from the speech, other than to leave a set of principles that he believes will one day emerge as the basis for talks, if and when they resume," The New York Times wrote. After all, as President-elect Donald Trump put it: "Stay strong Israel, January 20th is fast approaching!"
But The New Yorker reports that it might just be that fast-approaching date that spurred President Obama's sudden moves on Israel:
The President-elect's appointment of David Friedman, a pro-settlement bankruptcy lawyer, as the next U.S. ambassador to Israel "had a lot of weight in the president's thinking" about what to do next, one senior administration official told me. The official told me that the administration had been "alarmed" by many of Trump's appointments to his national-security team — notably the appointment of Michael Flynn as national-security adviser — but the selection of Friedman was "over the top.""The last thing you want to do as you leave office is to pick a fight with the organized Jewish community, but Friedman is so beyond the pale," the adviser said. "He put his political and charitable support directly into the settlements; he compares Jews on the left to the kapos in the concentration camps — it just put it over the top." [The New Yorker]
Trump has vowed not to let "Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect" and reportedly once bragged he could solve the Arab-Israeli conflict in "two weeks."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
WHCA rejects White House press seating grab
Speed Read The White House Correspondents' Association objected to the Trump administration's bid to control where journalists sit during press briefings
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sends more migrants to El Salvador jail
Speed Read Another 17 Venezuelan alleged gang members have been deported to a notorious prison
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump 'not joking' about unconstitutional 3rd term
Speed Read The president seems to be serious about seeking a third term in 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The JFK files: the truth at last?
In The Spotlight More than 64,000 previously classified documents relating the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy have been released by the Trump administration
By The Week Staff Published
-
Supreme Court upholds 'ghost gun' restrictions
Speed Read Ghost guns can be regulated like other firearms
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump sets 25% tariffs on auto imports
Speed Read The White House says the move will increase domestic manufacturing. But the steep import taxes could also harm the US auto industry.
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump allies urge White House to admit chat blunder
Speed Read Even pro-Trump figures are criticizing The White House's handling of the Signal scandal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Waltz takes blame for texts amid calls for Hegseth ouster
Speed Read Democrats are calling for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and national security adviser Michael Waltz to step down
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published