What does it take to be the U.S. ambassador to Israel? From Laura Rozen’s article on Dan Shapiro’s appointment. I wonder if all this matzoh-ball talk bugs non-Jews? Let alone Palestinians?
Shapiro has earned Obama’s trust as a Middle East and Jewish outreach advisor going back to the campaign..
Shapiro also has good ties with the Jewish community, having served as a key White House point of contact for the Jewish community, and helped head up Jewish outreach for the Obama campaign.
Shapiro, who speaks fluent Hebrew, also has a good relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
While one former U.S. Middle East hand wondered if there might be quiet grumbling that career Foreign Service diplomats were being passed over in favor of a political appointee for the key post… Jewish community leaders expressed strong support for the expected appointment….
[William Daroff, vice president and Washington director of the Jewish Federations of North America:] …Dan is a real mensch, who will continue to serve America incredibly well…
“Dan Shapiro … [has] the respect of the American Jewish & pro-Israel community to whom he has been open and accesssible and an honest broker for years,” said the Orthodox Union’s Nathan Diament. “Should he be nominated as the U.S. ambassador to Israel, he will be able to deepen the ties between these nations and peoples even further.”
