Israel’s new ambassador to the United States, Gilad Erdan, began his term in Washington, DC, on Thursday, with his appointment coinciding with President Biden’s inauguration.
He replaced Ambassador Ron Dermer, who held the post for seven and a half years and helped shape the Trump administration’s dramatic shift in U.S. policy toward Israel and the Middle East.
Erdan, who will have dual roles as Israeli ambassador to the United States and the United Nations, said he is committed to working with the Biden government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
“I am entering my position as Israel’s ambassador to the most important country in the world and Israel’s most important ally,” said Erdan in a statement.
“Under my leadership, Israel will continue to work closely with the United States and cooperate with the new government on its agenda to defeat the coronavirus and tackle climate change, an issue that is extremely dear to me,” he added.
Erdan is the second member of the Israeli Prime Minister’s ranking Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin (Bibi) NetanyahuMOREthe political party Likud and its position in Washington are seen as a direct extension of Netanyahu.
Erdan is expected to present his credentials to Biden, a traditional ceremony for a new diplomat, but one that will undoubtedly be different in the era of COVID-19. The date for the meeting has not yet been set, according to the Israeli embassy.
He will be an important voice as the Biden government works to involve Iran in its nuclear ambitions in an effort to bring the US back to the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, which aims to prevent Tehran from reaching capabilities to build a nuclear weapon.
Netanyahu is opposed to the US reentering the agreement, arguing that the agreement does not go far enough to curb Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, which are an existential threat to Israel. President Trump
Donald TrumpClinton, Bush and Obama reflect on the peaceful transition of power on the day of Biden’s inauguration The Republican brothers in Arizona say he is “at least partially guilty” for the violence on Capitol Hill. Biden reverses Trump freeze at 0.4 billion in funds MOREwithdrawal of the business in 2018.
For Biden, Israel’s opposition to US involvement with Iran will be reinforced by important ties in Washington with Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE’s envoy to the United States, and the ambassador of Bahrain to the USA, Abdullah Bin Mohammad Bin Rashed Al Khalifa – relations formally negotiated by the Trump administration under the agreement known as the Abraham Agreements.
Al Otaiba developed a close relationship with Dermer while he was the Israeli envoy in Washington.
And both the UAE and Bahrain have talked about their expectation of being included by the Biden government in Iran’s engagement discussions about restricting its nuclear program.
Although Biden has long expressed strong support for Israel and said that the US commitment to its security is “armored”, his government must review many of the drastic policy changes that have taken place under the Trump administration, a move that is likely to attract opposition from Israel.
This includes the Biden administration’s commitment to re-engage with the Palestinians, who hope the president will resume funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the main Palestinian refugee assistance program for which Trump cut off aid from USA in 2018.
Israel welcomed the move at the time and has long criticized the agency for contributing to perpetuating the status of Palestinian refugees from the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and including their descendants as benefactors of refugee status.
Another important move made by the Trump administration that Israel welcomed was the former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
Mike PompeoBiden summons career civil servants to interim positions in the state, USAID, UN China sanctions Pompeo and more than two dozen US figures.The decision to recognize Israeli settlements in the West Bank as part of Israel, a major reversal of US policy.
Most of the global community considers settlements to be illegal under international law. In addition, Pompeo authorized US investment in settlements – which was previously blocked – and allowed exports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank to the United States to be labeled “Made in Israel”.
Other important issues include how the Biden government addresses the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, an organized effort to pressure Israel through political, cultural and economic boycotts over its policies towards the Palestinians.
Pompeo issued a directive at the State Department labeling the movement anti-Semitic and ordered the agency to draw up a list of non-governmental organizations supporting the movement that would be prevented from receiving State Department funding.
There is bipartisan opposition to the boycott, divestment and sanctions in Congress, but Democratic lawmakers are divided over the implications of legislating against the movement due to concerns about violating First Amendment rights.
Antony Blinken
Antony BlinkenSenate confirms Biden’s chief of intelligence, giving him the first Cabinet officer measures to prevent the US exodus from the World Health Organization. Biden summons career public officials to interim positions in the state, USAID, UN MORE, Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, said during his Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday that he and the president are “resolutely opposed” to the movement and that “unfairly and inadequately highlights Israel, promotes a double standard and one standard that we do does not apply to other countries. ”
But Blinken also said he respects Americans’ First Amendment rights “to say what they believe and think”.
Blinken also said during his confirmation hearing that the Biden government will maintain the US embassy in Jerusalem. Trump moved the Tel Aviv embassy there in 2018, which was celebrated by Israeli officials as the legitimate recognition of Jerusalem as the country’s undivided capital.
Most of the international community that maintains relations with Israel maintains its diplomatic missions in Tel Aviv, recognizing that the final status of Jerusalem should only be determined through comprehensive negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, who hope to establish the capital of a future Palestinian state. in the city .