Foxman: Friedman’s Comments on ADL, J Street Are ‘Unacceptable’
While the Anti-Defamation League has decided not to pass judgment on David Friedman’s nomination to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Israel, its National Director Emeritus on Tuesday called Friedman’s past comments on its organization and J Street “unacceptable.”
“Jewish community leaders and organizations deserve greater respect from those who, like Mr. Friedman, aspire to leadership and speak on behalf of the Jewish people,” Abe Foxman, former ADL national director, said in a statement on Tuesday. “Ambassador-designate Friedman’s ugly language in describing ADL, its current CEO, and J-Street is unacceptable and it undermines the need for unity in our community to face the challenges we know are ahead of us, whether it is rising anti-Semitism or the threat of radical Islam.”
Friedman has come under fire for comments he made during the presidential election about J Street, who he described as “worse than Kapos,” and for referring to ADL leaders as “morons.”
Steering clear from joining the campaign to lobby Senators to block his nomination, Foxman said that President-elect Donald Trump’s Ambassador-designate should refrain from using language that divides the American Jewish community.
“It is my hope that as ambassador, Mr. Friedman will exercise greater restraint in his public remarks, recognizing that it is far better to disagree civilly than to attack indiscriminately,” said Foxman. “This is for the greater good of civil discourse, for unity in the Jewish community and for ensuring the continued strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”