Video: US President Biden's declaration in Israel clarifying that the return of abductees is a top priority/Photo: Reuters
Jack Lew, former US Treasury secretary, was appointed ambassador to Israel on Tuesday. Lou replaces Tom Nides, who stepped down in August. Since then, Stephanie Hallett has served as interim commissioner.
Lou is an observant Orthodox Jew. Throughout his tenure in the Clinton and Obama administrations, he was also a key liaison to the Jewish community in the United States. From 2012 to 2013, he was chief of staff at the White House, and in 2013 he was appointed Treasury secretary until Barack Obama's second term ended in early 2017.
Lu faces a difficult challenge, since he entered during the fighting in Gaza. Originally, he was supposed to deal with the political crisis in Israel against the backdrop of Prime Minister Netanyahu's intention to continue promoting the legal coup and take steps to weaken the Supreme Court, a move that the administration opposed. Another reason for the US administration's sense of urgency regarding the appointment of a new ambassador to Israel was the White House's initiative to promote a package deal with Saudi Arabia that would also include a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which despite the fighting is still alive and well.
A double challenge. Jack Lew/Reuters, Jason Lee
Lu, who worked closely with Biden during the Obama administration, will bring years of experience in the U.S. government and a deep understanding of working with Congress. During his time he served as US Treasury Secretary, where he previously worked with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and with his close associate, Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer, when he served as Israel's ambassador to Washington.
In his various positions as deputy secretary of state, chief of staff in the White House and secretary of the treasury, Lou witnessed firsthand the tense relationship between Obama and Netanyahu – both on settlement construction and on the nuclear agreement with Iran.
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