US Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign has tapped Ilan Goldenberg, a senior advisor to Harris who previously worked on US-led peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, to serve as the Harris-Walz campaign's liaison to the American Jewish community, Haaretz reported on Monday.
Goldenberg's position as Director of Jewish Outreach and Policy Advisor was confirmed by a campaign aide after first being reported by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
According to the campaign aide, Goldenberg will be the campaign's "main liaison with Jewish community leaders and stakeholders and advise the campaign on issues related to the US-Israel relationship, the war in Gaza and the broader Middle East."
"He is a foreign policy expert with deep knowledge of the US-Israel alliance, US-Israel security cooperation, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Iran with years of government service at the White House, Pentagon, State Department and on Capitol Hill," the aide said, according to Haaretz.
"Throughout each of these roles, he engaged with leaders throughout the American Jewish community, and he maintains deep ties to a wide range of community stakeholders."
Goldenberg — who was born in Jerusalem and lived in Israel before moving to Livingston, New Jersey when he was eight — was Harris' special advisor on the Middle East on October 7, and staffed her during the subsequent months in her engagements with Israeli officials, the hostage families and the American Jewish community — including her regular engagements with President Isaac Herzog.
He has also played a key role in day-after planning for post-war Gaza, both with the Office of the Vice President and as a senior advisor on the Middle East at the National Security Council.
He also supported her engagements with Middle Eastern leaders, including her travel to Dubai where she met with the leaders of the UAE, Jordan and Egypt along with multiple other calls and engagements with Middle Eastern leaders, according to Haaretz.
During the Obama administration, the report noted, Goldenberg worked extensively on issues relating to Israel — including serving as chief of staff to the special envoy for Israel-Palestinian Arab negotiations, senior professional staff member on the Democratic staff of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee responsible for the Middle East and advising the Department of Defense on how to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and countering its destabilizing behavior throughout the Middle East.