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Ambassador: US-Israel Bond 'Extraordinary'

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JERUSALEM, Israel – David Friedman made one of his first major speeches as the new United States ambassador to Israel Tuesday evening in Jerusalem.

Ambassador Friedman addressed the annual meeting of the Jewish humanitarian organization B'nai B'rith. Afterward, he gave CBN News an exclusive interview and addressed why current negotiations are held in private.

"It's really a mistake to characterize it as to deprive all the parties of, you know, private conversations, which I think are necessary, so I'm really not going to get into it not because I want to be coy. I just think it's the right way to proceed," he explained.

Friedman believes President Trump has made significant progress since taking office in January.


 
"He's made enormous strides," Friedman said. "I think the trip to Saudi Arabia, the flight from Riyadh to Israel, the trip to the Vatican. Really it was an extraordinarily successful trip and I think you'll see more success building upon that."

During his speech to Tuesday evening, Friedman went off script. Instead of discussing U.S.-Israel relations, he addressed a pressing controversy between American Jews and Israel concerning the status of the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City. Friedman told CBN News current U.S.-Israel relations are deep and wide.

"Look, I think that the depth and breadth of the relationship is well beyond – is well beyond – what people ordinarily understand," he continued. "When I have the privilege to work in the Embassy, they're committed to trade; they're committed to cultural exchange [and] various economic initiatives because it goes so far beyond what we see in the politics every day. The bond between the two countries is extraordinary and I don't think that gets out as much as it should."

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About The Author

Chris Mitchell
Chris
Mitchell

In a time where the world's attention is riveted on events in the Middle East, CBN viewers have come to appreciate Chris Mitchell's timely reports from this explosive region of the world. Chris brings a Biblical and prophetic perspective to these daily news events that shape our world. He first began reporting on the Middle East in the mid-1990s. Chris repeatedly traveled there to report on the religious and political issues facing Israel and the surrounding Arab states. One of his more significant reports focused on the emigration of persecuted Christians from the Middle East. In the past