Jewish lawyer David Friedman defended his decision to advise Donald Trump on Israel in a savage op-ed Friday, after fellow Jew Peter Beinart accused him and Trump exploiting Jewish interests for political capital.
Beinart leveled the harsh criticism in an op-ed for the left-leaning Israeli paper Haaretz, saying Friedman was lending Trump legitimacy among Jews in exchange for easy political capital. Friedman is one of two Jewish lawyers picked to serve as Trump’s policy advisors on Israel-U.S. relations.
Friedman defended his integrity and Trump’s admittedly simplistic view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a counter op-ed Friday, saying Beinart had perhaps unwittingly exposed the “danger of the Jewish left.”
“He has shown us the danger of the Jewish left – the lost souls who blame Israel for not making a suicidal ‘peace’ with hateful radical Islamists hell bent on Israel’s destruction,” Friedman wrote in the op-ed, after responding to several specific criticism. “This is Hillary Clinton’s crowd, and they are no friends of Israel.”
“Donald Trump’s view of Israel isn’t quite as nuanced as that of Mr. Beinart nor as academic as that of President Obama,” Friedman continued. “He thinks that when radical Islamic terrorists are trying to kill you, the right thing to do is kill them first. Don’t negotiate, reason or cajole. Just defeat them. Or as Mr. Trump would say, ‘win.'”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
