
David Friedman, the American ambassador to Israel appointed by President Donald Trump, got torn to shreds on Thursday after he issued a statement saying that the United States government supports Israel's decision to ban two American lawmakers from entering their country.
"The United States supports and respects the decision of the Government of Israel to deny entry to the Tlaib/Omar Delegation," Friedman wrote.
The ambassador went on to cite the congresswomen's support for the Boycott, Divest and Sanctions campaign, which is designed to punish the Israeli government for its continued occupation of the West Bank, as justification for not allowing them in.
Friedman's statement immediately drew harsh criticism, including from J-Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami, who slammed the ambassador for not "defending the rights of Americans."
@USAmbIsrael Just asking: is the job of Ambassador to Israel defending the rights of Americans (and the prerogative… https://t.co/wUCWs07dwU— Jeremy Ben-Ami (@Jeremy Ben-Ami)1565888242.0
Check out some more reactions below.
@USAmbIsrael This is how a sycophant, toadie, and lackey of Trump's betrays American values at his master's command.— David Gorski, MD, PhD (@David Gorski, MD, PhD)1565888120.0
@USAmbIsrael @USAmbIsrael touts Israel's "religious tolerance and ethnic diversity." https://t.co/J4t5wkV1GA— #YoureFired45 (@#YoureFired45)1565887694.0
@USAmbIsrael Also it would be a tad more convincing if Netanyahu had not recently met with Victor Orbin who praises… https://t.co/HU1GQNbY4E— Rah كلمتي حرة 願榮光歸香港 (@Rah كلمتي حرة 願榮光歸香港)1565888513.0
@USAmbIsrael I’ll just place this here!👇 https://t.co/1RcTyQ9kN1— Josef1601🎺 (@Josef1601🎺)1565888998.0
@USAmbIsrael As an American Jew, I cannot believe this is coming from my government. This is not who we are.— Jon Ullman (@Jon Ullman)1565889360.0
@USAmbIsrael @benshapiro "Vibrant and robust democracies" shouldn't be afraid of dissenting voices.— Francisco Onofre 🇪🇺 (@Francisco Onofre 🇪🇺)1565888876.0
@USAmbIsrael Cool. You are a shonda. Thanks for not representing American values, let alone Jewish values which eve… https://t.co/uGOjDRmCIM— Nikki (@Nikki)1565889107.0
@USAmbIsrael I’ll pass, but I’m sure it will be of interest to the historians who will tell the story of our ruin.— Jesse (@Jesse)1565889393.0