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Meet Aryeh Lightstone, behind-the-scenes US-Israel facilitator,
Chief of Staff for US Ambassador David Friedman
and key leader on the historic Abraham Accords.
Ask Aryeh Lightstone for a business card and he could pull out one of many from his jacket pocket: he is senior adviser and chief of staff to US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman; he is director of the Abraham Fund set up to increase business ties between Israel and the Gulf; and he also functions as something of a peace and economic envoy throughout the region.
For Lightstone though, it’s just another day at work.
Until the November 2016 election, Lightstone didn’t really have much to do with Donald Trump or his campaign.
Originally from Denver, Lightstone was an ordained rabbi, educator, storyteller and entrepreneur from Long Island who had spent several years as head of the NCSY youth movement in the area.
But as the Obama administration grew closer to Iran in 2014 and began promoting the JCPOA, Lightstone started getting actively involved in politics. He had become friendly with Friedman, who at the time lived nearby and was a successful bankruptcy lawyer.
When the time came for Friedman to head to Washington for his confirmation hearings, Lightstone was asked to come along. Neither of the men knew much about the machinations of Washington, but Lightstone had some experience, and that was worth something.
What Lightstone didn’t know at the time was that Friedman had asked Trump for permission to bring a senior adviser with him to Israel, a rare request for an ambassador. Trump agreed, and Friedman offered Lightstone the job, which became the “adventure of a lifetime.”
Ahead of the end of the Trump presidency on January 20 and by extension Lightstone’s tenure, I sat with him this week for a lengthy interview.
While his boss and mentor David Friedman is a household name in Israeli and American Jewish homes, the 40-year-old Lightstone is not, having spent the last four years behind the scenes and in the shadows, rarely speaking to the press.
But Lightstone has been involved in every big event between Israel and the US, sitting in on almost all of the high-level dialogues between visiting dignitaries and their Israeli counterparts while working alongside his boss to advance the Trump administration’s interests.
In May, for example, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew into Israel for a short visit, but Friedman didn’t feel well that day. Since no one was taking chances because of the coronavirus, Lightstone was asked by his boss to step in and serve as his replacement in all of Pompeo’s meetings, including with the prime minister.
Lightstone admits that it wasn’t always like this. “The embassy never really had a political ambassador, and not a No. 2 either,” he said. “In the beginning the rule was to do no harm.
Ambassador Friedman was described as a bankruptcy lawyer from Long Island, as if he was someone not experienced, and the last thing he needed was a rabbi from Long Island to make trouble.”
JERUSALEM POST By YAAKOV KATZ JANUARY 1, 2021 13:43
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