By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5tjt.com

Before we get to the contents of his memoir, there is one thing that must be pointed out.  David Friedman, the former Ambassador of the United States to Israel, in his conduct, in his careful adherence to minyanim, in his calm, cool demeanor, in his desire for peace, in his honesty, in his willingness to admit error, and steadfast adherence to Torah uMitzvos, has made an extraordinary Kiddush Hashem, and continues to do so.

CONNECTING A TO B

The left-wing media has developed an inexplicable disconnect between what this reviewer will call “A” the strong initial positions of the former administration’s Israel policies and the unprecedented Abraham Accords, which we will call “B.”

The left-wing media states that there is nothing about “A” that led to “B.”

What were the strong positions? What was “A?” Well one of them was the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem.  The second one was strongly denouncing support for terrorist behavior and creating a strong support structure for Israel. The third was in recognizing the Golan as part of Israel, and there are more.

In Chapter 13 of Sledgehammer, entitled, “Peace: From the Outside In,” David Friedman gives us the inside view of how “A”. in fact, had led precisely to “B.”  Indeed, the entire book argues the following:  If there was no “A” – there would be no “B.”

THE INSIDE INFORMATION

In his humility, David Friedman admits that his initial preference was to leave things as is.  He concedes that Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt were more optimistic than he was as to a possibility for a deal to emerge.  What was the reason for their optimism?  The author explains that the two had had extensive exposure to the leadership of the Gulf nations and has seen first-hand, their underlying aspirations.

In the robust arguments among the three of them, Jared claimed that he observed a genuine desire to be aligned with Israel on the part of the gulf leaders , but they just needed some diplomatic and political cover. The three of them then decided to write a peace plan that could be used if and when the opportunity arose.

THE KEY POINT

It seems that there was a critical point or discovery that Jared Kushner had made.  When the Gulf state leadership had referred to Jerusalem – they weren’t referring to the city.  They were referring to the Al Aqsa Mosque.  If somehow, the peace plan would encourage Muslim tourism and the ability to visit that mosque with more hotels, restaurants, and the like, then it would be very likely accepted by some of the Arab states.  The three worked on a peace plan together, but the Palestinians utterly rejected it.

Friedman reveals a classic, yes, classic, “Trump Moment”  that had been entirely ignored by the media.  In May of 2017, President Trump met with Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority (the PA) in Bethlehem.  Abbas had complained that Israel was insisting on controlling Palestinian security. It was a situation that could not be tolerated.  The president responded with a question:  “Well, how much are they charging the Palestinian Authority for this service?”

Abbas’ facial response was, “Huh?? They aren’t charging us!”

And then the president pointed out that ISIS, Hezbollah, Hamas, and Al Qaeda could literally take over the PA in one day and that he shouldn’t reject the free support but embrace it.  Abbas looked at him as if he was from Mars.

Notwithstanding the Palestinian rejection of the peace plan, the three of them decided to continue working on a plan.

HIJACKING RABIN

In researching the underpinnings of the Yitzchak Rabin 1995 Oslo Accords, the ambassador had discovered that Rabin’s true position had been hijacked both by the Israeli-Left and the American-Left.  In Rabin’s speech to the Knesset he explained that the Palestinian entity his administration envisioned will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority but would not be a state, and not in the entirety of Yehudah and Shomron.  He refused to consider any return to pre-1967 lines or anything resembling it.

MORPHING RABIN

Somehow, after his assassination, Rabin’s position was morphed.  The left quoted him as advocating for a full Palestinian state and a return to something along the lines of the 1967 borders.  In tracing how this “morphing” happened exactly, former Ambassador Friedman notes that in March of 2014, President Obama wrote this view exactly and prefaced it with a, “I think everyone understands the outlines of what a peace deal would look like..”

CALLING A SPADE A SPADE

Softspoken and humble though he is, Ambassador Friedman does call a spade a spade. He does call out UNRWA for perpetuating hatred of Israel.  He also pointed out the internal machinations between Gantz and Bibi as to who sits where – when the “Vision For Peace” would be rolled out.

INCREDIBLE ACHIEVEMENT

Ambassador Friedman and his team, now including Yeshiva of Far Rockaway graduate, Avi Berkowitz, in their negotiation of the “Vision for Peace” managed to give birth to the Abraham Accords.  The Vision for Peace was unveiled on January 28, 2020,  in a ceremony at the White House.  It contained a somewhat controversial component which allowed for Israeli law or annexation to roughly 30% of the West Bank.  The United Arab Emirates Ambassador, Yousef al Otaiba penned an op-ed in Yediot Achronot urging Israel not to support annexation but rather to considerthe possibility of improved relations between Israel and the UAE.  Avi Berkowitz jumped on the idea and discussed these ideas with Netanyahu.

On July 2, 2020, Otaiba met with Avi Berkowitz to further discuss an alternative plan to annexation. A normalization agreement was reached in August 2020. Hours after the announcement, Bahraini government officials called Jared Kushner and Avi Berkowitz with the message: “We want to be next.”

Then came Sudan on October 23^rd, 2020.  After that, on December 10^th, 2020, President Trump announced that Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco agreed to establish full diplomatic relations.

Sledgehammer should be required reading not only for anyone who prays for peace three times each day and in every Kaddish, but it should also be required reading for anyone who wishes to see a shining example of what being an ambassador is all about.  Mr. Friedman has proven to be a well-balanced, remarkably wise, and capable ambassador with extraordinary insights into ideas and people.

At the beginning of the book, Ambassador Friedman discusses the furor that happened when President Trump announced his appointment.  He received strong support from his Rav, the dynamic and community-minded Rabbi Wolowik of Chabad of the Five Towns.  Mr. Friedman was denounced vehemently by J Street, but was supported by the majority of the Orthodox Jewish organizations.

In light of the tremendous accomplishments of the Abraham Accords, will we expect to see a note of retraction from J Street saying, “We were wrong about you, and we deeply apologize.  Your ambassadorship has achieved the greatest accomplishment of peace since 1948..?”  The advent of the Messiah will certainly come before that were ever to happen.  In the meantime, we must all give a heartfelt thank you to former Ambassador David Friedman for his service to the United States and to  the people of Israel.

A special thank you to R’ Aryeh Feder for his constructive comments.

The reviewer can be reached at [email protected]