Jason Greenblatt, a key architect of the Abraham Accords, joined President Donald Trump in coming out against the Israeli government’s reported plans to annex portions of the West Bank, saying on Thursday evening that it was the wrong time to do so.

“I think Israel has so many challenges right now, militarily, [with the] hostages. There’s enormous things going on. The world is turned against Israel. I don’t agree with those that are pushing Bibi. I don’t know if it’s Bibi himself, but I hope that Bibi could figure out a way to get out of that political space that he’s in. And I think President Trump is making the right call,” Greenblatt said, using Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s nickname.

Greenblatt made his remarks during an onstage interview with Jason Isaacson, the American Jewish Committee’s chief policy and political affairs officer, at the AJC’s annual Global Jewish Diplomacy Reception at Manhattan’s Harmonie Club on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, which is being held this week. Shortly before the reception, Trump told reporters that he was firmly against Israeli annexation of the West Bank.

Greenblatt preceded his opposition to annexation by noting his right-wing bona fides. 

“My answer is coming from somebody who’s on the right politically, both in Israel and here. In fact, some of my Palestinian friends would say that sometimes I was Bibi’s mouthpiece,” he said. 

“But I agree with President Trump and what he said earlier today … I don’t think this is the time. I don’t think it’s the place. And I was part of the team that wrote the paperwork that would have allowed Israel to … apply Israeli sovereignty,” Greenblatt said, using the term the Israeli government prefers to refer to annexation. “I don’t think this is the time to do it.”

In addition to Greenblatt, speakers at the reception included Daniel Shapiro, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel under President Barack Obama, and Serge Berdugo, president of the council of Jewish communities of Morocco, who received AJC’s Akiba Award during the event. At least ten hostage family members were also present, some of whom offered staunch criticism of the Israeli government’s handling of the war in Gaza.

Responding to the growing number of Western countries recognizing Palestinian statehood, Shapiro called these moves an ineffectual “mistake.”

“It’s a purely rhetorical step that changes nothing and probably does little, if anything, to advance the stated goal of some sort of resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And in many ways it may actually set it back in part because of the way it appears to — and certainly many Israelis understand it to, and I’m sorry to say, many Arabs understand it to — reward Hamas,” Shapiro said. 

He also described the development, in part, as a response by world leaders to Israel’s refusal to develop a “day after” plan in Gaza.

“What is that vision of the day after? Not only when does it start, but what does it look like afterwards? And is it something that Arab states and European states can buy into and get behind,” Shapiro said. “That could have been a way of satisfying some of the domestic pressures, but it wasn’t really available. And so I think some of the leaders turned to this ill-advised move instead.” 

Speaking on behalf of hostage families, Ruby Chen, father of slain American Israeli hostage Itay Chen, whose remains are still being held captive by Hamas in Gaza, thanked the AJC for their advocacy on behalf of the hostage families and criticized the Israeli government for the ongoing hostage crisis. 

“I think I’m still in shock that … it wasn’t obvious that it should have been the number one objective of the government of Israel. But it’s unfortunate that there were other objectives, such as the disbanding of Hamas and making sure that Oct. 7 does not happen again, which are all legitimate,” said Chen. 

Chen continued, “We call on President Trump to bring all the parties together and put on the table a deal that is acceptable by everybody, and we pray to God that… those of you who are meeting with [Netanyahu]… are able to send a message saying we hope that he shares the same conviction that President Trump has shown, as well as President Biden and the previous administration to bring all these hostages home.”

As the hostage family members gathered for a photograph following Chen’s speech, the father of Israeli hostage Nimrod Cohen, Yehuda Cohen, stepped up to the microphone and delivered a fiery impromptu speech criticizing Netanyahu. 

“After two years, Netanyahu is prolonging an unneeded war. If you really want to help us as a Jewish organization, please help us advocating the push on Netanyahu, making Netanyahu, forcing Netanyahu to end the war and get a hostage deal,” he said. 

Cohen, who came out in support of the countries recognizing Palestinian statehood — breaking ranks with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum and nearly all of Israel’s political leaders, which described it as a reward for Hamas — defended his position as a form of leverage over the prime minister. 

“We are using the Europeans — their declaration of the Palestinian state, their sanctions of Netanyahu’s government … We have no choice. We are at war with Netanyahu. So if you really want to help us, that’s forcing Netanyahu to end the war and get a hostage deal, this is the real help,” said Cohen.