Who Is Ilan Goldenberg?, Keeping It Real at the UNSC, and The Real Deal
Who is Ilan Goldenberg?
As I referenced in a recent post concerning Philip Gordon, chief foreign policy advisor to Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, the saying inside the beltway is that personnel is policy. The position of Jewish community liaison is a political post which is typically involved in the communication of policy not its formulation. In Ilan Goldenberg, however, the Vice President, selected for this post a man steeped in Middle East policy, indeed on October 7 he was her Mideast advisor. The pick seems to signal Harris’ understanding of the centrality of the Gaza war, the middle east and our country’s relationship with Israel to American Jews. In light of his expertise will Mr. Goldenberg be involved developing a Harris administration’s positions on the region? I really don’t know.
Given all though it seems it is worth understanding Mr. Goldenberg’s well documented policy perspectives. I offer in this regard an article about him from The Jewish Insider, and attach below a short compendium of his thinking on specific issues produced by the same trusted source from which I supplied you with similar understandings of Republican VP nominee, Senator J.D. Vance (R-OH), and the current Vice President, Kamala Harris. In the interest of full disclosure, I had the privilege of meeting with Ilan Goldenberg recently and irrespective of my opinions on his views on the issues I can say he is a likeable, serious guy with obvious integrity and commitment to serving the interests of our country to the best of his ability.
OK, so first The Jewish Insider report, which you can read here. Among the key takeaways are Ilan’s support for the JCPOA (Iran Nuclear Deal), his role as advisor to Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) during the 2020 Democratic primary, his strong advocacy for a two state solution, his involvement in Biden administration formulation of sanctions on violent Israeli settlers, and the effusive praise for his selection offered by J Street, the partisan, left leaning advocacy organization with particular focus on the US-Israel relationship. Note that as a matter of practice, AIPAC does not publicly weigh in on staff appointments. It is worth observing that J Street is almost always is in opposition to AIPAC on policy issues, legislative initiatives, and political races where it almost uniformly endorses and/or supports candidates AIPAC either does not back or actively works against. For a more comprehensive look at Ilan Goldenberg’s positions read The Jerusalem Report piece found here.
Other policy positions set forth below include Goldenberg’s opposition to the prior administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, his support for the Obama administration’s decision to withhold a US veto at the end of his term thus allowing Israel-critical United Nations Security Council resolution 2334 to pass, and opposition to the Trump administration’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and The Taylor Force Act which withholds PA funding due to its “pay for slay” policy. As I said when discussing Philip Gordon, while there is of course always more than one perspective to a legitimate policy debate, on these issues I come out on the other side.
Compilation of Mr. Goldenberg’s Positions from a Trusted Source:
Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has named Ilan Goldenberg as its liaison to the Jewish community.
Goldenberg is well known in Washington, D.C. and has a long history working on Middle East issues.
While the Jewish liaison is not traditionally a policy-making role, Goldenberg has well-documented policy views, and those views indicate the perspective he is likely to take on key issues moving forward.
Recent Government Roles:
Goldenberg worked on Iran issues at the Pentagon in President Barack Obama’s first term before switching to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process at the State Department in Obama’s second term. He was a lead on the Obama administration’s negotiating team for the 2013-2014 Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.
In 2020, he advised Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign on Middle East issues.
Goldenberg joined the Biden administration in 2021 at the Department of Defense, before moving to Harris’ team as a Middle East advisor in 2023. In April, he transitioned to the White House National Security Council.
Policy Positions:
Over the years, Goldenberg has expressed his personal views on a number of issues related to the U.S.-Israel relationship during his time as a think tank analyst.
He strongly supported the 2016 U.S.-Israel memorandum of understanding on security assistance, which AIPAC also supported.
He is a strong supporter of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. At the start of the Biden administration in 2021, Goldenberg argued for the U.S. to rejoin the 2015 deal before negotiating a “longer and stronger” deal with Iran.
He argued it was “necessary and appropriate” for President Obama to allow anti-Israel United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 2334 to pass by abstaining. A bipartisan resolution opposing UNSCR 2334 passed 342-80 in the House and was supported by 79 Senators.
He opposed the Trump administration’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and moving the Embassy to Jerusalem, in accordance with U.S. law. He argued that if these actions were taken, the U.S. should simultaneously and unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state and also open an Embassy for the Palestinians in Jerusalem. Bipartisan majorities in Congress have long supported moving the U.S. Embassy to Israel and recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
He opposed the U.S recognition of Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights..
He opposed the Taylor Force Act to end U.S. economic assistance to the Palestinian Authority for its reprehensible pay-for-slay policies. The legislation which passed with bipartisan support.
Keeping it Real at the UNSC
Gilad Urdan, Israel’s Ambassador to the UN whose posting has just come to an end, let the UN Security Council shared his feelings about their emergency gathering to examine Israel’s targeted elimination of over two dozen Hamas terrorists operating out of a mosque in Gaza located near a school complex. The Council’s knee jerk reaction came in response to Hamas’ immediate claim of massacre complete with, now of course discredited, hugely inflated civilian casualty figures claimed to be comprised almost fully of women and children. It reminds me of our dog, Moses, who will forever chase a green laser irrespective of how many times he “catches” it only to find there’s no there there. In any event, just watch Urdan’s excoriation of the self-serious, biased cynics sitting on this elite international body (thanks, Mark Schostak). And know that in January, I believe, Urdan’s boss, Bibi Netanyahu, is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly. Expect a similarly hard hitting, if more articulate, dressing down. Will it change one mind in the audience? Nope. Will it be fun to watch? Yep.
The Real Deal
And finally, David Horowitz, Times of Israel publisher and veteran journalist who I’ve always found to have a balanced and informed take on developments in his country and the region, wrote a very cogent analysis of the current deal on the table in the hostage negotiations. He discusses the thinking of Israeli society and the defense establishment, as well as the considerations factoring into the decisions Netanyahu needs to make now. By way of pointed understatement, David notes “ there remains the not-insignificant issue of what Hamas intends to say and do.” Oh, yeah. That.