Former US Treasurer Jack Lew was nominated Monday to be the next American ambassador to Israel amid Republican protest, given his affiliation with the former Obama administration and his role in the 2015 Iran deal.
Lew served as the 76th United States Secretary of the Treasury from 2013 to 2017 under President Barack Obama and as the 25th White House Chief of Staff from 2012 to 2013.The White House said that during the Obama administration, Lew had “broad responsibilities for economic diplomacy.” It added that he had also served as a member of former US President Bill Clinton’s cabinet from 1998 to 2001.“In both administrations, he was a principal at the National Security Council” and was a Special Assistant to President Clinton. Lew, an observant Jew from New York, replaces Tom Nides of Minnesota.Republican resistanceEight Republican Representatives have appealed to US President Joe Biden to reconsider appointing Lew.“At a time when we should work on strengthening the US-Israel relationship, this nomination has the potential to strain relations with our strongest ally and the only democracy in the Middle East,” the lawmakers wrote.They noted that Lew was one of the “chief architects” of the now defunct 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA,) otherwise known as 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,” they wrote.Lew, the lawmakers said, had supported the 2016 United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, which said that Israeli settlement activity was illegal under international and affirmed a two-state resolution to the conflict at the pre-1967 lines.The lawmakers took issue in particular with comments that Lew had made about Netanyahu in the past explaining that this cast doubt on his ability to work cooperatively with Netanyahu in his new role.Those who signed the letter were: Claudia Tenney Elise Stefanikof New York, Max Miller of Ohio, Doug Lamborn of Colorado, Christopher Smith of New Jersey, Carol Miller of Virginian Kat Cammack of Florida and Mark Green of Tennessee. JPost
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