Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel s US correspondent based in New York
Israeli Ambassador Gilad Erdan speaks at the UN in New York. (Shahar Azran/Israeli Mission to the UN)
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan took on the additional role of ambassador to the US on Thursday, replacing Ron Dermer, who held the position for the past seven years.
Erdan enters the post at a particularly sensitive point in the bilateral relationship between Israel and the US, which reached new heights during the presidency of Donald Trump.
US President Joe Biden, who took office Wednesday is widely believed to boast his own impressive pro-Israel bona fides, but where the liberal president and conservative Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government diverge are on Iran and the Palestinians.
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The Walla news site reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking to appoint Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz as the next US ambassador in place of Gilad Erdan, who is supposed to take up the role in addition to the UN envoy position he already holds.
Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
According to the outlet, Netanyahu is meeting with Erdan, and giving him the choice of choosing which position he wants to keep and which he wants Steinitz to have.
Steinitz has been closely involved in US and UN-brokered negotiations with Lebanon over a maritime border dispute.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman mark the first night of Hanukkah, at the Western Wall, in Jerusalem’s Old City, Dec. 10, 2020. Photo: Emil Salman / Pool via Reuters.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu effusively welcomed on Thursday the normalization agreement with Morocco after it was announced by US President Donald Trump.
Speaking at a Hanukkah candle-lighting ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Netanyahu standing next to US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman said, “I’ve always believed that this historic day would come, I’ve always worked for it.”
“I want to first thank President Trump for his extraordinary efforts to expand peace, to bring peace to Israel and the peoples of the Middle East,” Netanyahu continued. “President Trump, the people of Israel and the State of Israel will be forever indebted to you for your magnificent efforts on our behalf.”