US envoy Friedman says he’s an ‘unapologetic right wing defender of Israel’

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman says that apathy, not disagreements over the Western Wall or other issues, is the greatest threat to US-Israel relations.

“Let me speak for a minute about the disagreements that pop up from time to time between Israel and Diaspora Jewry. They will never go away completely. They just won’t,” he says at a speech to the Jewish Federations of North America’s annual General Assembly in Tel Aviv.

“To paraphrase the famous observation, Israel is from Mars and the Diaspora is from Venus. But as they sometimes say about the original subject of that observation, “Viva la Difference.”

Friedman also refers to himself as an “unapologetic right wing defender of Israel and a security hawk,” adding that some delegates in the audience may have disagreements with him regarding Israel.

— Raphael Ahren