A senior staffer at the State Department told then-U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman in 2017, “Don’t be so Jewish.”
Friedman reveals the antisemitic episode in his explosive new memoir, Sledgehammer: How Breaking with the Past Brought Peace to the Middle East, set to be released on February 8 by HarperCollins. In the book, Friedman tells the story behind President Donald Trump’s diplomatic success in the Middle East — and how achieving it required smashing old prejudices.
The context of the remark was Friedman’s urgent preparations for President Trump’s first visit to Israel and the Middle East in May 2017. Trump had promised to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, but there was fierce internal opposition within the government. As Friedman tried to push State Department legal advisers to accept the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as an interim first step, he faced strong pushback: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would not even take his phone call.
He describes the reaction from career officials in the “deep state” of the State Department bureaucracy:
Word of my stubborn insistence on standing with our ally Israel had now circulated widely within the State Department. Another senior staffer decided to call me and offer the following advice: “Mr. Ambassador, don’t be so Jewish.”
“What?”
“Don’t be so Jewish. You represent the United States of America. Tone down the Judaism in your work.”
Don’t be so Jewish.
I was furious. “Do you think I am under any disillusion as to who I represent? I’m not a politically correct person but I have to ask you, why do the laws of political correctness not apply to Jews?”
“Just a free word of advice.” Worth the price.
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Friedman reveals the antisemitic episode in his explosive new memoir, Sledgehammer: How Breaking with the Past Brought Peace to the Middle East, set to be released on February 8 by HarperCollins. In the book, Friedman tells the story behind President Donald Trump’s diplomatic success in the Middle East — and how achieving it required smashing old prejudices.
The context of the remark was Friedman’s urgent preparations for President Trump’s first visit to Israel and the Middle East in May 2017. Trump had promised to move the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, but there was fierce internal opposition within the government. As Friedman tried to push State Department legal advisers to accept the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital as an interim first step, he faced strong pushback: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would not even take his phone call.
He describes the reaction from career officials in the “deep state” of the State Department bureaucracy:
Word of my stubborn insistence on standing with our ally Israel had now circulated widely within the State Department. Another senior staffer decided to call me and offer the following advice: “Mr. Ambassador, don’t be so Jewish.”
“What?”
“Don’t be so Jewish. You represent the United States of America. Tone down the Judaism in your work.”
Don’t be so Jewish.
I was furious. “Do you think I am under any disillusion as to who I represent? I’m not a politically correct person but I have to ask you, why do the laws of political correctness not apply to Jews?”
“Just a free word of advice.” Worth the price.
EXCLUSIVE: Senior State Department Staffer Told Ambassador David Friedman: 'Don't Be So Jewish'
A senior staffer at the State Department told then-U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman in 2017, "Don't be so Jewish."