David M. Friedman has been nominated as the US Ambassador to Israel by Donald Trump. He is an Orthodox Jew and a person that may create some headaches towards diplomacy in the Holy Land.
For background the land that is currently occupied by Israel has been a hotly contested area for centuries. If you haven't read or learned anything about the Crusades between Christians and Muslims you need to do your research before reading anymore about this post.
Bringing it back to the present time there are two distinct societies and cultures in the Holy Land. The official part of the land is the country of Israel which was set aside by the British for Jews to populate and thrive after numerous attempts to wipe them off the face of the map. The unofficial part is Palestine whose inhabitants are Muslim and live in designated areas with Israel called the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. These two sides have been going at for the longest time since Israel's creation with the a handful of wars and numerous bombing incidents between the two brings a lot of uncertainty.
If anything, Trump's need to build a wall has to come from Israel as they have built a solid concrete wall separating Israel proper from Palestinian lands. With Friedman at the helm, it only confirms how serious Trump is about making that wall a reality on the border with Mexico.
The current position of the Obama administration is for the "Two State Solution" which means that Israel gives up the West Bank and Gaza Strip to the Palestinians who can finally recreate the State of Palestine. With Friedman on board for Trump that means a reversal of the Two State opinion. Friedman has at times shown disdain towards liberal Israelis and has called Obama an anti-Semite and has accused an aide to Clinton as having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. It seems to be that he will not be there to bring further peace, but to stir the pot even more.
I am by no means anti-Israel, but definitely pro-Two State. There needs to be an official Palestine, but it will not happen under the new administration and with Friedman at the helm as Ambassador. I can only see further divide between the two sides and more senseless violence. Both sides are guilty for crimes against humanity, but we only ever seem to point the finger towards the Palestinians because they are Muslim and are not officially a country. The fact that Israel has walls to keep the Palestinians away from the rest of Israel just shows the extent that there is a wish that these two societies are to stay separate. This is something Friedman wants to keep in check. Friedman will make sure that Israel stays Israel and that Palestine stays oppressed. While there hasn't been a lot of progress towards complete peace in the Holy Land, it will be set back with the new ambassador.
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