As incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu works to form his new government coalition, potentially with some of the most far-right nationalist politicians Israel has ever seen, the Biden administration is watching closely. At the center of what could become a transatlantic storm sits America’s top envoy to Israel, Tom Nides, who, in the coming weeks and months will be required to maneuver between a new batch of Israeli cabinet members whose views — and actions — could end up clashing head-on with deeply held positions of a Democratic government in the U.S. that was bolstered by the recent midterm elections. “I’ve now been here for a year now and as I’ve said before, this job is not for the faint of heart,” Nides confessed to Jewish Insider’s Ruth Marks Eglash in an interview in his Jerusalem office on Monday. “And given the fact that I’m already on my third prime minister, it’s even stretching my own imagination how complicated this job is.”

Defense decisions: Since Israel’s Nov. 1 election, local media has been speculating that Itamar Ben-Gvir and his political ally, far-right lawmaker Bezalel Smotrich – the two ran a successful election campaign together under the banner of the far-right Religious Zionism faction, receiving the third most votes – are vying for some of the most powerful ministerial positions in Netanyahu’s next government, including the uber-sensitive post of defense minister. “I’m not going to speculate over who will be in the government or what our reaction will be when it happens, but what I do care about are those ministries that we have a very close, interlocking relationship with, in particular, the Defense Ministry,” explained Nides, who has spoken with Netanyahu several times since the election.

Wait and see: Despite the rising concerns from both Palestinian and U.S. officials about far-right politicians being positions of such power, Nides said his orders from Washington were to wait and see what happens over the next few weeks. Nides also said he did not believe that Netanyahu wanted to see a deterioration in the relations between Israel and the U.S., even though he acknowledged that there might be some in the incoming government who do not have the same priorities. “Joe Biden has a lot of credibility with the incoming prime minister, they’ve known each other for a long time and that relationship matters,” he continued. “Could there be people in the government who might not have the same priorities? Of course. But we will look towards Prime Minister Netanyahu to steer the ship, and if we believe things are off track, we’ll be more than happy to express our views as we see fit.”

Read the full interview here.

Jewish leaders weigh in: Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations CEO William Daroff, speaking at a conference on U.S.-Israel ties on Monday, raised concerns over a proposal by Ben-Gvir to alter Israel’s Law of Return, as well as the recognition of conversions by non-Orthodox branches of Judaism.

To Ambassador Rufus Gifford, chief of protocol for the U.S., the most important aspect of foreign policy is human relations. Building bridges between countries, he says, is the “backbone” of diplomacy, a mission he’s oriented his career around. “In essence, we’re the primary liaison between foreign governments and the Biden administration,” Gifford said of his current position during a recent interview with Jewish Insider’s “Limited Liability Podcast” co-hosts Rich Goldberg and Jarrod Bernstein. “We try to create an environment in which diplomacy can thrive.”

VIP status: For some events, Gifford likes to utilize the presidency’s more VIP venues, including Blair House, the president’s official guest house, which he oversees. “The power to convene, the power to bring people together in these remarkable venues, there’s so much value in that, and it’s something that I think we overlook or we don’t think about enough. So when I think about the spectacular venues, and for those of you who have not been to Blair House, it is…one of the most beautiful, beautiful buildings that the U.S. government owns, and as far as I’m concerned, that should be shared,” Gifford told JI. “So we’re going to try to think about this a little differently, try to open it up and share it with our foreign guests, and use it as an opportunity to really advance Biden administration foreign policy by utilizing that sort of the soft power that comes inherently in many ways with doing an event at Blair House.”

Sukkot set-up: “We had this idea to partner with the special envoy to combat antisemitism [Deborah Lipstadt] and her office to…not just try to preach to the converted [about the work she and her team are doing] — which I think is oftentimes such the mistake that we make in government, is that we’re oftentimes just talking to the same people that agree with us anyway — so how can we think about this a little bit different?” Giffords explained, “But how can we also do it in a way that’s a little bit softer, how can we celebrate over a meal? How can we enjoy ourselves while having a substantive conversation? And that’s where this all came from,” Gifford explained. “So we built the sukkah outside, we got Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman, to come, in addition to the special envoy to combat antisemitism, the ambassador-at-large for religious freedom at State [Rashad Hussain], as well as most [of] the ambassadors we invited were potentially not the ones you’d expect. It wasn’t just the Israeli ambassador, who of course was there with his spouse, but also mostly Arab state ambassadors, and many of whom had never been to an event like this, had never stood under a sukkah before.”

As seen on TV: During former President Barack Obama’s second term, Gifford was named the U.S. ambassador to Denmark, and, in a unique strategy to further foreign policy, became the subject of a Danish reality TV show — Gifford prefers the term “documentary series” —  “I am the Ambassador.” “It is easily the most unexpected thing that has happened to me over the course of my professional life,” Gifford attested. “When I arrived in Denmark, which was the end of 2013, what I learned really quickly is that there was a whole generation of Europeans, and largely sort of left-leaning Europeans, that had lost interest or trust in the transatlantic relationship led by the United States,” he said. “What I really wanted to try to do is engage a new generation of Europeans and try to talk about American diplomacy in a way that they would listen and not just preach to the choir.”

Lightning Round: Favorite restaurant in D.C.: “I don’t even know that it’s my favorite food anymore, but it’s where I used to go on, it’s where I went on my first date, some of my first dates with my now-husband, so it has a special place in my heart, and that will be Tabard Inn.” Favorite historical figure in foreign policy: “I don’t think I can ever find a more important relationship, as it relates to creating the modern world, than Churchill and Roosevelt.” Favorite Yiddish word: “I mean, to me, because it’s how I try to live my life, is, chutzpah is Yiddish, right?”

Read more and listen to the podcast here.

In early October, United Democracy Project, a super PAC affiliated with AIPAC, marked its first foray into the general election, quietly dropping about $80,000 into a low-profile House race in the Bay Area, with just a month remaining until the midterms. It was a relatively modest initial ad buy for the pro-Israel group, which had poured millions into a range of competitive primaries. As the race concluded last Tuesday, however, the final count showed that UDP had ultimately spent a sizable amount — more than $500,000 — to boost a moderate state assemblyman from South San Francisco, Kevin Mullin, in California’s redrawn 15th Congressional District, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.

Numbers game: According to a person familiar with UDP’s engagement, there was evidence to suggest that the race for retiring Rep. Jackie Speier’s seat could have been closer than the final result demonstrated. About a month before the election, the super PAC commissioned a poll showing that close to 50% of voters were still undecided, the person told JI while characterizing a private survey on the condition of anonymity. The significant number of respondents who had yet to make up their minds was a cause for concern, even if Mullin was still favored to win: He had earned backing from the majority of remaining poll respondents, with his support hovering somewhere in the low 30s. Mullin’s team, for its part, conducted an internal poll that revealed a similar dynamic, according to the person, who also reviewed the campaign’s survey.

Money matters: Meanwhile, with weeks remaining until the midterms, Mullin was struggling to raise money to promote his name and message. He had pulled in more than $1.1 million throughout the race but was sitting on just under $100,000 by mid-October, according to filings from the Federal Election Commission. By contrast, his opponent, David Canepa, was at even more of a disadvantage, with only about $20,000 on hand as he entered the final stretch of the campaign. 

Read more here.