The US Senate today (Tuesday) confirmed the appointment of former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew as the next American Ambassador to Israel.
53 senators voted to confirm Lew's appointment, while 43 senators voted against his confirmation. Republican Senators Lindsey Graham and Rand Paul voted together with the 51 Democratic Senators to confirm Lew.
During the confirmation hearing, Lew spoke to the Senators about the threat posed by Iran. "I want to be clear, Iran is a threat to regional stability and to Israel's existence," he said.
He further stated that now is not the time for talks on a new nuclear agreement with Iran, saying: "I believe deeply that an agreement to not have nuclear weapons would be a good thing. But this is not the moment."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said following the vote: "The Senate, I'm proud to say, has now taken an extremely important step in our support of Israel."
"With Israel defending itself against Hamas, this ambassadorship is as important and timely as any nomination that the Senate has confirmed in a long time," Schumer said.
Lew was nominated by US President Joe Biden in September after former Ambassador Tom Nides resigned.
The appointment of a new US ambassador to Israel assumed greater urgency following the massacre of over 1,400 Israelis by the Hamas terrorist organization on October 7 and the outbreak of war between Hamas and Israel.
Lew will travel to Israel to assume his post in the coming days.