Author’s note: I am very grateful to embassy photographer David Azagury, spokesperson Kristin Stewart, and deputy embassy spokesperson Peter Neisuler for all their help in preparing this news story. I offer a particular thanks to U.S. Ambassador Tom Nides who made this interview by email a priority. This article was only slightly edited for space and style constraints.
Earlier this month The Jewish Link conducted an interview by email with the U.S. Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides.
The role of U.S. Ambassador to Israel is arguably one of the more challenging and sensitive roles. What appealed to you about this assignment?
As I like to point out to folks here, I grew up as a Jewish kid in Duluth, Minnesota—Reform, culturally Jewish. I’ve had the good fortune to have some amazing experiences both in government and in the private sector, but to get the chance to be President Biden’s personal representative in Israel? How could I pass that up! My first experience with Israel was age 14, when I was still just a kid. I never forgot it. A couple of years after my bar mitzvah, I visited here; it was the first time I traveled across the ocean. I visited the kibbutz Ein HaShofet; I slept in the Sinai desert; I climbed up Masada at 3 a.m. Just don’t ask me to sleep out in the desert now, though—I’m older! The trip really opened my eyes. I learned more about Israel’s history, how it was formed, and how central it is. I also got to understand how vulnerable it has been from the beginning, surrounded by those who thought it had no right to exist.
Israel is also an incredible place in its own right, outside of politics. What other place has so much biblical history, but is also a “startup nation” at the same time? I learned this place is second only to the U.S. in the world when it comes to the number of startups. That’s in absolute numbers, not percent—in a place the size of New Jersey! Amazing.
Sure, it’s challenging—we’re in the center of the action here. People are always coming after me for one reason or another. It comes with the territory. But if I get equal criticism from right and left, I know I’m in the middle where I need to be. I’m not an ideologue; I’m a pragmatist who believes in incremental steps to make things better. I can’t think of more vital work, and if I can contribute in some way to making people’s lives better in this region, it will be worth it.
What experiences in your background—at Morgan Stanley, as deputy secretary of state for management and resources, and as senior adviser to Speaker Tom Foley and Majority Whip Tony Coelho—best prepared you for this role?
I think they were all important in different ways and it’s the sum of my experiences that makes me effective today. Look, so much of diplomacy, as with the business world, is about building relationships with people. Personal relationships are vital to accomplishing your goals, and it goes for both government and the private sector. If I’m trying to give more opportunities to Palestinians, for example, to improve people’s prospects, if I can call my friends at Google and tell them, “Come here and bring your checkbook,” then we can get somewhere, we can make a difference. And that’s what happened, you know. My friend Ruth [Porat], the CFO of Google, gave $25 million to start a tech training program for marginalized sectors from Arab to Haredi and everyone in between.
How does the U.S. Embassy’s new grant program for civic engagement, network building, English language instruction, regional art programs, regional economic programs and peace initiatives advance key U.S. objectives in Israel? What is the size of the grants? What kind of response has this grant program received?
I came out here to Israel without an ideology. My only ideology, my North Star, is about keeping Israel a strong democratic, Jewish state. President Biden and I support a two-state solution. That starts with number one: Israel believing the U.S. has always got their back, because we do;
and number two, waking up every day to see what I can do to ensure both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace just a little bit more prosperous, healthy and educated than the day before.
Look, we could sit here and use a lot of pretty words to talk about our goals, but what really matters is: What are the real things happening on the ground that affect real people? The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is complicated—no one is going to solve it overnight; I get that. That’s the realist in me. So, what can we do to make people’s lives better right now, and lower tensions and save lives? That’s what I want to focus on. Grants for civic engagement, people-to-people connections and economic opportunities aren’t just feel-good gestures—they’re investments in making people’s lives better, and giving them some hope so that they don’t go in a dark direction.
As for the response I get, everywhere I go I hear from people that they want more of these kinds of opportunities. People are tired of the hatred and violence, and they want to make a living for their families. They want a future, something to look forward to, something constructive to get them out of bed in the morning.
The Israeli press reported this past weekend that the U.S. administration and your office has been discussing concerns with the “rules of engagement” with the Israeli government. Could you elaborate on this?
You know, I have my ambassadorial duties, but sometimes this job can get pretty personal, too. My wife is a journalist, and journalists are some of the bravest people I know, going into conflict zones and putting themselves in harm’s way. So, naturally, I thought of my wife when Shireen Abu Akleh was killed. One of the most heartbreaking phone calls I’ve made while here was to speak to Shireen’s brother on the phone. As you can imagine, that was a tough and painful conversation. Of course, it’s important that innocent people and journalists not be harmed in the course of armed conflict.
And we’ve had private conversations about that with the Israeli government. But at the same time, Israel has the right to defend itself. Terrorists killed 19 Israelis during a wave of attacks earlier this year, and some of those attacks were from people coming from the Jenin area where the IDF has been operating. I know the IDF strives to avoid killing civilians when it’s protecting the security of its citizens. The U.S. military does, too. When we raise our concerns, we’re not telling the IDF how to do its job, but we can point to our own DOD [Department of Defense] processes. The U.S. military is constantly reviewing policies on how to really minimize civilian harm. It’s not easy to thread the needle in the heat of conflict, when you know there are people trying to kill you.
You mentioned that you were in the New York area this week for a series of meetings. Can you tell us about some of these meetings? Whom did you meet with? What were your objectives in these meetings?
Part of my role, I think, is to be a bridge between Jewish Americans and Israel. So it’s always good when I can get back to the U.S. and meet with folks there. I had the chance to speak at the annual Jerusalem Post conference in New York, and also with a group of Jewish community leaders hosted by UJA, coordinated with the White House Jewish Outreach Office. I also joined the Israeli Consul General of New York for an event at the Rodeph Sholom school. We have some important dates coming up—it’s the second anniversary of the Abraham Accords, which was such an exciting breakthrough, and which I’m working hard to try to build on. And of course the High Holidays are coming up, and it’s a real privilege to be serving in Israel during that time. Should be lots of great food at the very least!
If you could identify your top three personal goals in your role as U.S. Ambassador to Israel, what would they be?
I represent Joe Biden in Israel, a man who feels Zionism down to his bones and has done so for almost 50 years, ever since he met Golda Meir here as a junior senator. Our two countries have an unbreakable bond, a deep connection that has lasted through all kinds of different administrations on both sides, and I have faith it will stay that way with continued bipartisan support for Israel. So, based on that and on what I mentioned above, I would say my top three
goals are:
One: Keeping Israel a strong, democratic Jewish state, and reinforcing that unbreakable bond and making sure people on both sides of the ocean understand and support each other. If I’m lucky, maybe that means getting Israel into the Visa Waiver Program!
Two: Building on the Abraham Accords to deepen them. I’ve got to work to take the Abraham Accords from “startup” to real operation. I have an Ambassador’s working group for that and traveled to the UAE for the Abraham Accords Festival and Games this spring.
Three: Economic prosperity for all, and improving people’s lives in tangible ways—like, for example, getting 4G for the West Bank, or 24/7 operation of Allenby Bridge for easier movement of people and cargo—that kind of practical opening helps lower tensions, improve lives and enhance connectivity. You saw that when President Biden was here in July; we announced $100 million for the East Jerusalem Hospital Network. This kind of thing really helps people.
Harry Glazer can be reached at [email protected]
