{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://nadler.house.gov/press-release/congressman-nadler-statement-donald-trumps-appointment-david-friedman-us-ambassador", "Congressman Nadler Statement on Donald Trump's Appointment of David Friedman as U.S. Ambassador to Israel", "2016-12-16", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "NY", "Jerrold Nadler", "N000002", "nadler.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) released the following statement concerning President-elect Donald Trump\u2019s appointment of David Friedman as the new United States Ambassador to Israel:\n\t\t\t\t\t\"The nomination of David Friedman as the new U.S. Ambassador to Israel underscores, yet again, the extremist agenda of Donald Trump and his administration.\u00a0 This is an appointment with dangerous consequences for both the United States and Israel, not only with respect to the prospect of an eventual negotiated peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but also with respect to the relationship between our two countries, and more generally, to regional stability.\n\"Mr. Friedman\u2019s views and comments about a two-state solution are not only a total break from decades of American and Israeli policy, but are fundamentally out-of-step with the views of the majority of American Jews.\u00a0 Support for a two-state solution is not only official U.S. policy, it is also the official Israeli policy when it comes to a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians.\u00a0 Breaking from this position undermines the longstanding diplomatic alignment between our two countries, and magnifies the risk to Israel\u2019s long-term safety and security by increasing dangerous regional instability.\u00a0 Moreover, the overwhelming majority of American Jews, along with most American Jewish organizations across the spectrum\u2014from AIPAC to J-Street\u2014all support a two-state solution.\u00a0\n\"Mr. Friedman\u2019s appointment is even more disturbing given his hateful rhetoric in describing,\u00a0for example, some supporters of a two-state solution as \u201cworse than kapos.\u201d \u00a0Using Nazi imagery, such as the term kapo\u2014a reference to Jews who cooperated and/or assisted the Nazis during the Holocaust\u2014when referring to Jews or Israel today, no matter the circumstance, is broadly deemed to be anti-Semitic and should be condemned in the same way it would be if someone who was not Jewish were to use it. \u00a0\n\"Mr. Friedman\u2019s extreme views and use of such hateful language is an insult to the majority of American Jews.\n\"With the appointment of David Friedman, Donald Trump has continued the divisive politics that were regularly on display during his campaign.\u00a0 As another in a series of extremists to be appointed to top positions within the Administration, Mr. Friedman\u2019s radical hardline positions place him far outside the mainstream of both American and Israeli policy and of American Jewry.\u00a0 His appointment is not only offensive to both American and Israeli Jews, it again signals the intent of Donald Trump and the Republicans who support him to align with extreme right-wing positions.\u00a0 Mr. Friedman\u2019s views break with one of the fundamental building blocks of U.S. and Israeli policy, jeopardizing the U.S.-Israel relationship going forward.\"", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://nadler.house.gov/press-release/congressman-nadler-statement-donald-trumps-appointment-david-friedman-us-ambassador"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.2719379737973213, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}