The Harris-Walz campaign has appointed Ilan Goldenberg as Director of Jewish Outreach and Policy Advisor. Goldenberg will act as the campaign’s primary connection to the American Jewish community.
A Harris campaign aide told JTA the appointment had been made against the background of pressure from progressive groups regarding her stance on the Gaza war and US military assistance to Israel, and Republicans using Democratic positions on Israel as a political tool.
The aide praised Goldenberg’s extensive experience, describing him as a foreign policy expert with comprehensive knowledge of US-Israel relations, security cooperation, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Iran. His background includes government service across various departments, including the White House, Pentagon, State Department, and Capitol Hill.
THE SANCTIONS SNITCH
Tablet Magazine reported on Monday on an interagency effort to develop sanctions against right-wing Israeli entities and individuals that has been initiated by the White House.
This effort is spearheaded by Ilan Goldenberg, the International Economics Directorate at the National Security Council (NSC).
Goldenberg, who transitioned from Vice President Kamala Harris’s office to the NSC’s Strategic Planning Directorate in April, is reportedly actively involved in this process – Tablet described it as an “enthusiastic role.”, while Breitbart described Goldenberg as spearheading Biden’s sanctions against Israel.
To date, six tranches of sanctions have reportedly been implemented. The next set is already prepared but is being held back for release after the Iranian attack on Israel, to avoid accusations of undermining Israel while it’s bleeding.
The administration seems to prioritize the consistent rollout of these sanctions, averaging about one package per month, over their specific content. The stated objective is not to alter Israeli government policy, but rather to generate controversy around Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing coalition partners, most notably Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir.
According to Tablet, the initiation of this sanctions process was not in response to any specific developments in the Middle East other than the October 7 Hamas attack. The sanctions have always been meant to address concerns in Washington about the potential strengthening of the Israeli right in the wake of the attack. Biden would have launched his sanctions as a countermeasure to the electoral success of the Israeli right even if the settlers were to send their PA Arab neighbors cookies and milk every day.
GOLDENBERG RENOUNCED HIS ISRAELI CITIZENSHIP
Here’s his JTA bio: Born in Jerusalem, Ilan Goldenberg, 47, was raised in New Jersey where he attended a Jewish day school and was part of a Conservative synagogue with his family. He earned degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University, and is proficient in both Hebrew and Arabic. His career has been dedicated to Middle East affairs, spanning roles in government and think tanks.
Goldenberg gave up his Israeli citizenship to work for the US government. During President Obama’s administration, he initially focused on Iran-related matters at the Pentagon, later transitioning to the State Department to work on the peace process. Prior to rejoining government service under President Biden, he served as an advisor to Senator Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential campaign.
MILSTEIN’S COMPLAINTS
David Milstein, who used to work for US Ambassador to Jerusalem David Friedman, on Monday night responded to the JTA report on Goldenberg’s appointment with a litany of observations regarding the young man’s surprisingly long career in the service of left-wing America (check his tweet for citations):
- Goldenberg Supported Obama’s abstention of the anti-Israel Security Council Resolution 2334, together with Secretary of State Kerry’s shameful speech at the end of the Obama Administration. As you may recall, the two lame ducks used their final days in office to give Netanyahu the finger. It’s what they had wanted to do all along but couldn’t.
- Goldenberg opposed the Trump Admin’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the Embassy to Jerusalem as per US law. In an op-ed in Politico on January 23, 2017, three days following Trump’s inauguration, Goldenberg wrote: “Moving the embassy would upend 50 years of American policy… But Trump could fulfill his pledge while mitigating some negative consequences if he were to pair it with another radical move: formal recognition of the state of Palestine.”
- Goldenberg opposed merging the US consulate serving PA Arab citizens into the US Embassy in Jerusalem.
- Goldenberg opposed President Trump’s recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
- Goldenberg supported the calamitous Iran deal which immediately thawed billions in Iran’s frozen accounts, getting the Islamic Republic on its way to becoming the hub for terrorism across the Middle East.
- Goldenberg opposed the Taylor Force Act to end US economic assistance to the PA over its pay-for-slay program, supporting terrorists behind bars in Israel and the families of dead terrorists in the PA and Gaza.
- Goldenberg supported restoring funding to UNRWA after it had been proven that many of its employees in Gaza moonlight as Hamas fighters, and some were documented participating in the October 7 atrocities.
- Goldenberg supported, in 2018, “a political process that simultaneously pursues the reintegration of the West Bank and Gaza Strip and a long-term ceasefire between Israel and a group of Palestinian factions that include Hamas and Fatah and that has the blessing of the PLO.” Why with those views he could join the IDF high command.
- Goldenberg supported reopening the PLO mission in DC that was shut down after the PA supported anti-Israel actions at the ICC, in defiance of the Oslo Accords. Remember those innocent days when it made a difference when the PLO stepped on the Oslo Accords?
- Goldenberg proposed in 2020 that “While the United States should not move its embassy back to Tel Aviv, Washington should make clear that it supports an outcome that enables both parties to have their capitals in Jerusalem.” He then recommended that the US “Freeze or reverse settlement activity through a range of options, including (1) ending the practice of shielding Israel from international consequences; (2) pursuing a clearly defined partial settlement freeze; or (3) proposing a US map and using it as the starting point for U.S. policy on settlements.”
- Goldenberg supported, in 2020, returning to the pre-1967 lines, effectively placing Israel inside a ring of terrorist states in Gaza, Judea, and Samaria, and Lebanon.
- Goldenberg worked in the Biden-Harris Administration on implementing some of the most anti-Israel policies in US history, including imposing baseless sanctions on Israelis. This, you see, brings us back to the beginning.
Finally, the campaign’s Jewish outreach coordinator serves as a bridge between the candidate and Jewish communities. This role involves explaining the candidate’s stance on Israel and other topics important to Jewish voters, addressing inquiries from Jewish constituents, spearheading efforts to engage Jewish voters, and organizing campaign events within Jewish communities.
Do they really believe he is qualified?
This article is missing a lot of important information regarding Ilan Goldberg’s views on Israel. Here are just a few examples –
(1) Supported Obama’s abstention of the anti-Israel Security Council Resolution 2334 + Secretary Kerry’s shameful speech at the end of the Obama… https://t.co/QsJ0sCygOl
— David Milstein (@davidamilstein) August 12, 2024
