News update for 29 September 2025: A breakdown of Tony Blair's bizarre proposal to run Gaza.
How a little-known embassy aide hijacked US Israel policy
David Milstein, top adviser to Amb. Mike Huckabee, has stoked a culture of fear at the State Department, current and former officials say
By Connor Echols | September 24, 2025
In late spring of this year, American diplomats in Jerusalem drafted an urgent cable. The war in Gaza, coupled with Israel's decision in March to block all forms of aid from entering the strip, had left the region on the brink of disaster. A famine was looming, and the U.S. wasn't doing anything about it.
"It sounded like a propaganda statement," one official told Responsible Statecraft. As mainstream aid groups condemned GHF for endangering Palestinian aid seekers, Milstein's report praised the organization for meeting a "humanitarian need." Roughly two months after Milstein sent his cable, the world's leading hunger monitor declared a famine in Gaza for the first time.
The previously unreported incident highlights the extent to which Milstein has exerted influence over U.S. policy despite his seemingly modest position as an ambassador's adviser. In the first eight months of the Trump administration, Milstein has become something of a pro-Israel enforcer, reaching across the State Department to steer U.S. policy and contest any information that casts Israel in a negative light, according to current and former State Department officials who spoke with Responsible Statecraft.
In an effort to strengthen U.S. support for Israel, Milstein has confronted colleagues he viewed as insufficiently pro-Israel, removed content critical of Israel from press statements as well as a major annual human rights report, and tried to get the U.S. government to refer to the West Bank as "Judea and Samaria,” a controversial term often used by supporters of Israeli annexation of the region. Prior to his current role, Milstein worked in various capacities with pro-Israel Republican politicians like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Milstein's efforts first broke into public view in July, when the State Department fired Shahed Ghoreishi, who was serving as the department's lead press officer for Israeli-Palestinian affairs.
Milstein, who is the stepson of conservative radio host Mark Levin, had on several occasions butted heads with Ghoreishi over press statements relating to Israel. Following a disagreement over whether to say the U.S. opposed forced displacement of Gazans — a point on which neither President Trump nor his peace envoy Steve Witkoff have expressed a consistent view — Ghoreishi was fired without explanation.
In an interview with Responsible Statecraft, Ghoreishi claimed that Milstein had "reached out to Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio's office and used his influence" to get Ghoreishi fired. Milstein did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the department "has zero tolerance for employees who commit misconduct by leaking or otherwise disclosing confidential deliberative emails or information," adding that the comments contained in this article are "outrageous and dishonest."
"David Milstein is a strong and valued advocate for the policies of the Trump Administration and for the American people," Pigott said.
The Ghoreishi dispute left many in the State Department on edge. Milstein "actually did get someone fired," a State Department official said. "Is he gonna find some way to throw me under the bus?”
How to blind an embassy
The roots of Milstein's influence date back to the first Trump administration. When the U.S. decided to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the new facility swallowed up the American consulate in Jerusalem, which had previously acted as a de facto embassy to the Palestinians, with separate channels back to Washington.
This policy increased the importance of the U.S. ambassador to Israel, who now had direct control over the Palestinian section, meaning that they could block unwanted information from reaching Foggy Bottom. During the first Trump administration, "anything they didn't like just didn't go out," recalled Mike Casey, a former foreign service officer who worked in the embassy from 2020 to 2024. "It never even gets to the ambassador for him to look at it and say 'no.'" At the time, this largely meant blocking any cables noting concerns about Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Please go to Responsible Statecraft to continue reading.
________
How a little-known embassy aide hijacked US Israel policy
David Milstein, top adviser to Amb. Mike Huckabee, has stoked a culture of fear at the State Department, current and former officials say
By Connor Echols | September 24, 2025
In late spring of this year, American diplomats in Jerusalem drafted an urgent cable. The war in Gaza, coupled with Israel's decision in March to block all forms of aid from entering the strip, had left the region on the brink of disaster. A famine was looming, and the U.S. wasn't doing anything about it.
But that cable never got back to Washington. In fact, it's not clear whether it even reached the desk of Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel. In its place, David Milstein — a senior adviser to Huckabee — sent a cable that sounded like "an advertisement for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation," according to two State Department officials with knowledge of the incident.
"It sounded like a propaganda statement," one official told Responsible Statecraft. As mainstream aid groups condemned GHF for endangering Palestinian aid seekers, Milstein's report praised the organization for meeting a "humanitarian need." Roughly two months after Milstein sent his cable, the world's leading hunger monitor declared a famine in Gaza for the first time.
The previously unreported incident highlights the extent to which Milstein has exerted influence over U.S. policy despite his seemingly modest position as an ambassador's adviser. In the first eight months of the Trump administration, Milstein has become something of a pro-Israel enforcer, reaching across the State Department to steer U.S. policy and contest any information that casts Israel in a negative light, according to current and former State Department officials who spoke with Responsible Statecraft.
In an effort to strengthen U.S. support for Israel, Milstein has confronted colleagues he viewed as insufficiently pro-Israel, removed content critical of Israel from press statements as well as a major annual human rights report, and tried to get the U.S. government to refer to the West Bank as "Judea and Samaria,” a controversial term often used by supporters of Israeli annexation of the region. Prior to his current role, Milstein worked in various capacities with pro-Israel Republican politicians like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and GOP Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Milstein's efforts first broke into public view in July, when the State Department fired Shahed Ghoreishi, who was serving as the department's lead press officer for Israeli-Palestinian affairs.
Milstein, who is the stepson of conservative radio host Mark Levin, had on several occasions butted heads with Ghoreishi over press statements relating to Israel. Following a disagreement over whether to say the U.S. opposed forced displacement of Gazans — a point on which neither President Trump nor his peace envoy Steve Witkoff have expressed a consistent view — Ghoreishi was fired without explanation.
In an interview with Responsible Statecraft, Ghoreishi claimed that Milstein had "reached out to Secretary [of State Marco] Rubio's office and used his influence" to get Ghoreishi fired. Milstein did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement, State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said the department "has zero tolerance for employees who commit misconduct by leaking or otherwise disclosing confidential deliberative emails or information," adding that the comments contained in this article are "outrageous and dishonest."
"David Milstein is a strong and valued advocate for the policies of the Trump Administration and for the American people," Pigott said.
The Ghoreishi dispute left many in the State Department on edge. Milstein "actually did get someone fired," a State Department official said. "Is he gonna find some way to throw me under the bus?”
How to blind an embassy
The roots of Milstein's influence date back to the first Trump administration. When the U.S. decided to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, the new facility swallowed up the American consulate in Jerusalem, which had previously acted as a de facto embassy to the Palestinians, with separate channels back to Washington.
This policy increased the importance of the U.S. ambassador to Israel, who now had direct control over the Palestinian section, meaning that they could block unwanted information from reaching Foggy Bottom. During the first Trump administration, "anything they didn't like just didn't go out," recalled Mike Casey, a former foreign service officer who worked in the embassy from 2020 to 2024. "It never even gets to the ambassador for him to look at it and say 'no.'" At the time, this largely meant blocking any cables noting concerns about Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Please go to Responsible Statecraft to continue reading.
________
This little known fact that Venezuela is the most anti-Zionist country in South America and if this assessment is correct it looks as though the Jewish interests who control US foreign policy are going to put the US military to work for Israel against Venezuela:
Yes, Mr. Lavrov, but please don't leave out the British component in the Middle East just as the British have been attempting to do in Ukraine:
The obedience of US politicians to Israel is beyond comprehension...she is calling her own father a scumbag...
And here is where Americans stand today...
Source: makow.com
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