Huckabee aide tried quashing US embassy reports to protect Israeli government — NYT

A senior adviser to US Ambassador Mike Huckabee has sought to censor or altogether chuck the US Embassy’s reporting on Israeli government actions for more than a year, particularly regarding West Bank settler violence, according to an investigation by The New York Times.

The report, published on Thursday, said that David Milstein’s efforts have been focused on shielding Jerusalem from blowback in Washington.

The Times reported that since taking his post in April 2025, Milstein has allegedly blocked some reports from reaching Washington, substantially modified others and held up drafts until the information contained has lost its relevance.

The Times said it interviewed 15 US officials who had worked with Milstein in some manner and reviewed dozens of internal cables, memos and other communications. Several sources told the paper that they spoke because they were worried that authorities in Washington weren’t getting a clear picture of Israel’s actions.

The investigation said Milstein, who holds top-secret US security clearance, was said to have intervened in reporting by the US embassy on Israeli settlement activity and settler violence in the West Bank, including after Israel approved a record number of settlements in late March and again during a surge in settler violence in the spring.

In another case mentioned in the report — which was previously reported by the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft — US diplomats drafted a cable last year warning about worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza after Israel halted the entry of aid into the Strip. Milstein instead reportedly transmitted a separate cable portraying the controversial US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which was meant to provide aid in place of existing mechanisms, much more favorably.

The newspaper said it was not clear how much Huckabee knew about Milstein’s interventions, or if they had an effect on White House policy. According to officials who spoke to the Times, Huckabee had sometimes worked with Milstein to limit or mold the embassy’s reporting, but had also restrained Milstein when he thought the aide had overreached.

The US-born Milstein previously served as a special assistant to Trump’s first-term ambassador to Israel, David Friedman. Before that, Milstein worked as a legislative aide to Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

Huckabee responded to The New York Times in a statement, without addressing specific instances cited in its investigation.

“The elements of the story The New York Times is trying to assemble are so lacking in fact that it ranks up with other Times farcical endeavors,” he said. “I personally and categorically refute the elements of your proposed ‘story.'”

The White House referred The Times to the State Department, which provided its own statement when asked about the reporting on Milstein: “The entire team at State remains focused on advancing President Trump’s America First agenda.”

Last month, Reuters reported that US officials in Jerusalem and Washington prepared a draft statement attributed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio condemning plans by the UK, France and Canada to block imports from Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Two sources told Reuters that the document, dated September 8, was driven by Milstein and proposed that Rubio describe the actions by these countries as hostile measures against Israel that contribute to antisemitism. US officials never released it.

The Times’ reporting comes weeks after Politico published a story on Milstein last month saying he asked for “monetary wedding gifts” from Israeli citizens in an invitation to his wedding. Milstein sent out the paperless invitation on September 16 along with a QR code to all the guests who could use it to give gifts of money.

Milstein appeared to take down the payment link after Politico’s flagship newsletter Playbook asked the official if he had received permission from the US government for the request. He sent a message to wedding guests saying his request had gone to a wider list than intended. “Please know we cannot accept gifts of any kind,” Milstein wrote.

Politico cited several sources who said that Milstein’s actions were considered a national security threat, though he was not under criminal suspicion or accused of wrongfully accessing intelligence.

In Israel, it is customary for couples to request monetary gifts from guests instead of having a gift registry, which is common in other countries.

Someone familiar with the gift message told Politico it was the “final straw” for the adviser after he welcomed convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard to the US Embassy in Jerusalem last year.

Two unnamed sources alleged to the publication that people fear Milstein since he regularly name-drops his stepfather, Mark Levin, an influential Fox News commentator and associate of US President Donald Trump.

The Milstein allegations were not the only sign of US-Israeli tensions on Thursday.

The Washington Post reported on friction between US President Donald Trump’s objectives in Gaza and those of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government. The story examined the deadlock in the US-led effort to rebuild Gaza, citing a senior US official who said Netanyahu has not been “a cooperative partner” in the Gaza efforts.

The reporting looked at Trump’s inability to enforce his will over his Israeli ally and get his desired foreign policy accomplishment done ahead of Israel’s election on October 27. The US plan is mostly stalled amid disagreements between the Trump-led Board of Peace, Hamas and Israel over a plan for the terror group’s disarmament and Israeli withdrawals.