The United States announced yesterday that its ambassador to Egypt, Daniel Kurtzer, will be the next ambassador to Israel. Israel has already approved the choice of Kurtzer, an Orthodox Jew, despite the opposition of many Jewish groups in the U.S. and Israel. Kurtzer is expected to assume office in the summer, replacing Martin Indyk.
The Zionist Organization of America notes that Kurtzer has a long record of support for the Palestinians. The New York Times reported on Jan.13, 1989 that then-State Department official Kurtzer had been \"arguing for months that the United States had to reach out to the Palestinians, and that the PLO under Arafat was moving in a moderate direction\" - this, despite constant PLO terrorism during that period. In addition, his Ph.D. dissertation (Columbia University, 1976), claimed that Israeli strikes against Palestinian Arab terrorists in the 1970s were to blame for \"the radicalization of those Palestinians to violence…\"
The Zionist Organization of America notes that Kurtzer has a long record of support for the Palestinians. The New York Times reported on Jan.13, 1989 that then-State Department official Kurtzer had been \"arguing for months that the United States had to reach out to the Palestinians, and that the PLO under Arafat was moving in a moderate direction\" - this, despite constant PLO terrorism during that period. In addition, his Ph.D. dissertation (Columbia University, 1976), claimed that Israeli strikes against Palestinian Arab terrorists in the 1970s were to blame for \"the radicalization of those Palestinians to violence…\"