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.”

Just asking: is the job of Ambassador to Israel defending the rights of Americans (and the prerogatives of American officials) or is the job, as @USAmbIsrael defines it, to defend the decisions of the Gov of Israel?

— Jeremy Ben-Ami (@JeremyBenAmi) August 15, 2019

Check out some more reactions below.

This is how a sycophant, toadie, and lackey of Trump’s betrays American values at his master’s command.

— David Gorski, MD, PhD (@gorskon) August 15, 2019

@USAmbIsrael touts Israel’s “religious tolerance and ethnic diversity.” pic.twitter.com/J4t5wkV1GA

— JimboTex (@jimbotex) August 15, 2019

Can’t recall any US Ambassador stridently standing beside a foreign goverment against the Untied States Congress.

Is this an impeachable offense? ☝🏼

— Hady Amr (@HadyAmr) August 15, 2019

Also it would be a tad more convincing if Netanyahu had not recently met with Victor Orbin who praises Nazi collaborators and Oleh Lyashko whose fellow party members are proudly related to Nazi collobarators and 1 has a song about how Hitler is awesome.

— Rah (@habet01) August 15, 2019

I’ll just place this here!👇 https://t.co/1RcTyQ9kN1

— Jose ⏳ (@Josef1601) August 15, 2019

As an American Jew, I cannot believe this is coming from my government. This is not who we are.

— Jon Ullman (@jdullman) August 15, 2019

“Vibrant and robust democracies” shouldn’t be afraid of dissenting voices.

— Francisco Onofre 🇪🇺 (@franciscoon_) August 15, 2019

Cool. You are a shonda. Thanks for not representing American values, let alone Jewish values which everyone keeps claiming to protect. Remember when we were taught as children to question, to think for ourselves, and above all, to seek peace and justice for ALL people.

— Nikki (@nkk) August 15, 2019

I’ll pass, but I’m sure it will be of interest to the historians who will tell the story of our ruin.

— Jesse (@hoodie_dixon) August 15, 2019

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and legal efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. And unlike other news outlets, we’ve decided to make our original content free. But we need your support to do what we do.

Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Unhinged from billionaires and corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.

We need your support to deepen our investigative reporting. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click to donate by check.

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. Like you, we here at Raw Story believe in the power of progressive journalism — and we’re investing in investigative reporting as other publications give it the ax. Raw Story readers power David Cay Johnston’s DCReport, which we've expanded to keep watch in Washington. We’ve exposed billionaire tax evasion and uncovered White House efforts to poison our water. We’ve revealed financial scams that prey on veterans, and efforts to harm workers exploited by abusive bosses. We need your support to do what we do.

Raw Story is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. Unhinged from corporate overlords, we fight to ensure no one is forgotten.

We need your support to keep producing quality journalism and deepen our investigative reporting. Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Invest with us in the future. Make a one-time contribution to Raw Story Investigates, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you.