Date: Wednesday, October 2, 2019To: Friends & SupportersFrom: Gary L. Bauer, Director An Interview With David FriedmanU.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman recently sat down for an interview with the Jerusalem Post ( [link removed](?x-mi:(?%3C=href=)[%5Cs]*[ ). Friedman is a personal friend of the president and unabashedly pro-Israel, attributes which the Post acknowledges allow him to "pick up the phone and get the president on the line when needed."As you may recall, Christians United for Israel and CUFI Action Fund strongly supported Ambassador Friedman's confirmation because he is such a strong friend of Israel. Ambassador Friedman addressed ( [link removed](?x-mi:(?%3C=href=)[%5Cs]*[ ) this year's Washington Summit and received the 2019 Defender of Israel Award. Below are some excerpts of Friedman's wide-ranging interview with the Jerusalem Post. On the presentation of the Trump peace plan:"We want to roll it out in an environment where there is a government that can respond to it... We would like to deal with a formed government, so they are in a position to react and respond and talk to us about it."What about the Palestinians?"I am not as pessimistic as you about the Palestinian reaction, though we certainly allow for that possibility. I think the world is thirsting for a proposal that provides a realistic solution to this conflict that has been 100 years or more in the making, and we think we advance the cause of peace by laying out our views, even if they are not embraced immediately. I think every one of our views is defensible, and will provoke a discussion that will be helpful."There has been talk in recent days that the relationship between Washington and Jerusalem has cooled . . . talk about a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani; the firing of John Bolton. Are you worried about a cool breeze?"No, not at all. I can go through each one of those things and tell you why people have made more of it than there is."The president made it very clear he would not meet [Rouhani] under circumstances where there was any [sanction] relief granted in advance as a concession for a meeting. . . The president feels that meeting with people is important in his role as commander in chief. . . The reality is that he is not going to lift sanctions before any meeting."There is a very, very deep bench within the White House and the State and Defense departments that is pro-Israel. [Bolton's] successor will be terrific as well – and there are so many others who are pro-Israel, as well as the president himself. I think it is a mistake to read anything into that."You were harshly criticized over the summer for . . . the picture of you taking a sledgehammer and inaugurating the City of David's Pilgrimage Road under Palestinian homes."I am very proud of that move [the Pilgrimage Road inauguration]. I am completely comfortable with what happened. It was a once-in-a-century archaeological discovery that deeply connected the modern State of Israel to its historical and biblical roots."Given the extent to which Israel's enemies have tried to deny those roots, the fact that there is scientific proof to the contrary is extremely important. Being part of that ceremony was a great honor. . ."The United States has a deep interest in Jerusalem and its history. . . The fact that we had the opportunity to participate in this discovery, and all that it meant in the scientific corroboration of history, meant a lot to America, as well as to Israel."The Palestinians have every right to their wishes, political aspirations, beliefs and their personal narratives. But they don't have a right to their own facts. . . To resent the fact that science has corroborated what most of us already knew, I'm not sympathetic to that grievance."You are obviously someone concerned about Israel's future. Does the fact that there is now a rift [on the American political left] toward Israel worry you?"Sure. . . There is this sense that Israel could somehow, with the flick of a switch, end this so-called 'occupation' of Palestine – and the world would be a safer place, and the Palestinians and Israelis would lead better lives. And it's at odds with the facts and at odds with reality."I think Israelis kind of look at this perspective, and don't understand it – and I appreciate why. Because right now, there is no safe way for Israel to separate from the Palestinians. "The Palestinians have no control over Hamas, over Islamic Jihad; they continue to pay terrorists; the Palestinian textbooks continue to contain highly inappropriate and inciting language, in some cases. The Palestinians have no record on human rights. These are real problems; they are not things that just get fixed because somebody flicks a switch and says, 'Ok, we're going to move out [of the territories].'"I think there is sort of an intellectual laziness within parts of the [progressive left] that doesn't really want to do the work to understand these issues: They just want to see what they consider to be an injustice remedied. But it is just not that simple, and everyone in Israel knows it is not that simple. And everybody that does the work and studies it knows it is not that simple. . . "People need to understand these issues better, they need to do more work; they need to come here if they care about the issue. . . but the notion that Israel's security problems are a thing of the past is, regrettably, just not true." Christians United for Israel Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization, donations are not tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. To make a donation, please call 202-738-4714, or send a check to:CUFI Action Fund ( [link removed](?x-mi:(?%3C=href=)[%5Cs]*[ )300 Pennsylvania Avenue, SEWashington, D.C. 20001EMAIL GARY BAUER ( [link removed](?x-mi:(?%3C=href=)[%5Cs]*[ ) ( [link removed] ) ( [link removed] ) CUFI Action Fund300 Pennsylvania Avenue, SEWashington, D.C. 20001 Update your Email Preferences ( [link removed] ) or Unsubscribe ( [link removed] )
