Linda Thomas-Greenfield

July 29, 2021, 6:27 pm

US envoy says Biden admin will press for release of Israelis held in Gaza

Linda Thomas-Greenfield says she promised Leah Goldin to ‘do everything possible to support her efforts to have her son returned’

By Jacob Magid

President Reuven Rivlin (middle seated) with a group of 21 UN ambassadors in New York on June 29, 2021. (Shahar Azran)

June 29, 2021, 11:14 pm

At UN, Rivlin makes plea to PA’s Abbas: ‘It’s our role to end conflict’

President meets with UN chief Guterres, 21 ambassadors, urges them to oppose investigations and resolutions against Israel, which he says make peace more difficult to achieve

By Jacob Magid

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and US President Joe Biden (R). (Flash90/AP)

May 17, 2021, 11:05 pm

Biden speaks with Netanyahu, expresses ‘support for a ceasefire’

US leader reiterates ‘firm support’ for Israel’s right to defend itself; PM says strikes on Strip to continue amid ongoing rocket fire; Erdogan says Biden has blood on his hands

By Jacob Magid

Member state flags fly outside the United Nations headquarters during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

May 17, 2021, 8:03 pm

UN General Assembly to meet on Gaza as US blocks 3rd Security Council statement

Amid growing international efforts to restore calm, Blinken indicates US not joining calls for immediate ceasefire

By TOI staff and Jacob Magid

May 17, 2021, 8:58 am

For 3rd time, US blocking joint Security Council statement urging ceasefire

Member states have until noon on Monday to negotiate; diplomats tell ToI that Washington is pushing back on statement which laments loss of life, but doesn’t mention Hamas rockets

By Jacob Magid

The UN Security Council holds an emergency session on the violence in Israel and Gaza on May 16, 2021. (Screen capture/UN)

May 16, 2021, 10:45 pm

At UN Security Council, US says working ‘tirelessly’ to end Gaza fighting

US envoy calls for halt to rocket fire, doesn’t mention Israel’s right to self-defense; Erdan charges Hamas preplanned violence; Palestinian Authority: No equivalence between sides

By Jacob Magid

US President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting with Republican senators in the Oval Office of the White House on May 13, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

May 14, 2021, 4:56 am

Biden says he doesn’t think Israel overreacting in response to Gaza rockets

US president says question is how to get Hamas to stop ‘indiscriminate’ attacks; Washington blocks Security Council meeting on issue, where Israel would likely have been criticized

By Jacob Magid

A Palestinian carries a box of vegetable oil as he walks past bags of flour on a truck donated by USAID, or the United States Agency for International Development, at a depot in the West Bank village of Anin near Jenin, June 4, 2008 (AP Photo/Mohammed Ballas)

April 1, 2021, 2:26 am

US gov’t watchdog: Aid agency did not properly vet Palestinians for terror ties

General Accounting Office finds USAID failed to properly check secondary recipients of funds it provided

By JTA and AP

US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, March 30, 2021. (Evan Vucci/AP)

March 31, 2021, 9:46 pm

Biden quietly giving Palestinians $75 million to help regain ‘trust’ after Trump

After announcing $15m aid to fight COVID, State Department, with no public announcement, notifies Congress of further funds, apparently to encourage PA to return to peace table

By Matthew Lee

A Palestinian pupil walks past United Nations Relief and Works Agency, (UNRWA) and USAID humanitarian aid, on June 6, 2010 in the Shatie refugee camp in Gaza City. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

March 25, 2021, 9:14 pm

In first under Biden, US announces $15 million in aid for Palestinians

Envoy delivers news in her 1st address at Security Council monthly briefing on Israeli-Palestinian conflict, during which she laments that same attention not given to other issues

By Jacob Magid

Linda Thomas-Greenfield smiles as she testifies during her confirmation hearing for US ambassador to the UN, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill, January 27, 2021, in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)

February 24, 2021, 2:44 am

US Senate confirms Biden’s pick for UN ambassador

Israeli envoy to world body congratulates Linda Thomas-Greenfield on her confirmation, says they’ll work together against ‘anti-Semitic BDS groups’

By AP and TOI staff

United States Ambassador to the United Nations nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield testifies during for her confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on Jan. 27, 2021, in Washington. (Greg Nash/Pool via AP)

January 27, 2021, 9:07 pm

Biden’s UN envoy nominee: BDS activity ‘unacceptable, verges on anti-Semitic’

At Senate hearing, Linda Thomas-Greenfield pledges to combat ‘unfair targeting of Israel,’ encourage states that have normalized with Israel to back Jerusalem at world forums too

By Jacob Magid

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris introduce their nominees and appointees to key national security and foreign policy posts at The Queen theater, November 24, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

November 25, 2020, 8:27 am

7 things to know about Biden’s latest senior appointments

US president-elect’s nominees include pair of ‘2nd-generation survivors,’ an Iran deal and Gaza ceasefire negotiator, and 2 women trailblazers in diplomacy and national security

By Jacob Magid

This combination of pictures created on November 23, 2020 shows US Ambassador to Liberia Linda Thomas-Greenfield in New York City, former deputy national security advisor and former deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Avril Haines in Washington, DC, former US Deputy Secretary of State Antony J Blinken in Paris, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas in New York City, and former US Secretary of State John Kerry in Paris. (Photos by various sources / AFP)

November 23, 2020, 9:00 pm

Biden announces Blinken as secretary of state, John Kerry as climate envoy

Ex-Clinton aide to serve as national security adviser, Linda Thomas-Greenfield named next UN envoy, Avril Haines to become first woman director of National Intelligence

By Jacob Magid and Agencies