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Under pressure from the right over Israel, a Jewish nominee to a top US human rights post withdraws
WASHINGTON (JTA) — A Jewish nominee withdrew her bid for a top State Department human rights post after a key Republican senator refused to change his mind about what he said were her unacceptable past comments on Israel.
“At present, I don’t see a path forward for confirmation, and after one and a half years, it’s time to move on,” Sarah Margon said in a statement first reported by Politico. President Joe Biden had nominated Margon to be assistant secretary of state for human rights.
James Risch, the Idaho senator who is the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, refused to agree to advance Margon’s nomination principally because of her statements on Israel.
Margon had in the past tweeted about supporting disinvestment from Jewish settlements in the West Bank. Hawkish pro-Israel groups, including the Zionist Organization of America, said this was tantamount to endorsing the boycott Israel movement, although Margon in testimony said she did not support a broader boycott of Israel.
Right-wing pro-Israel groups also held against Margon her past employment with Human Rights Watch, a group that has clashed repeatedly with Israel’s government.
A slew of officials in the human rights community backed Margon’s appointment, including, notably, Elliott Abrams, a hawkish pro-Israel voice who held top human rights and foreign policy posts in Republican administrations, including the Trump administration.
Margon likely had the votes to advance on the committee — Democrats are in the majority — and she had the backing of its chairman, Democrat Robert Menendez of New Jersey, one of the most staunchly pro-Israel senators in the body. But the committee has a tradition of “comity,” in which no nominee is granted a vote without the agreement of the committee’s top Republican and Democrat. Menendez would not break with that tradition.
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The post Under pressure from the right over Israel, a Jewish nominee to a top US human rights post withdraws appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Exclusive: Israeli Officials Harshly Critical of Steve Witkoff’s Influence on US Policy on Gaza, Iran, i24NEWS Told
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Washington, DC, Jan. 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Carlos Barria
i24 News – Amid growing disagreements with the Trump administration over the composition of the Board of Peace for Gaza and the question of a strike on Iran, officials in Israel point to a key figure behind decisions seen as running counter to Israeli interests: Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
The officials mention sustained dissatisfaction with Witkoff. Sources close to the PM Netanyahu told i24NEWS on Saturday evening: “For several months now, the feeling has been that envoy Steve Witkoff has strong ties, for his own reasons, across the Middle East, and that at times the Israeli interest does not truly prevail in his decision-making.”
This criticism relates both to the proposed inclusion of Turkey and Qatar in Gaza’s governing bodies and to the Iranian threat. A senior Israeli official put it bluntly: “If it turns out that he is among those blocking a strike on Iran, that is far more than a coincidence.”
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EU Warns of Downward Spiral After Trump Threatens Tariffs Over Greenland
European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on June 17, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Yves Herman
European Union leaders on Saturday warned of a “dangerous downward spiral” over US President Donald Trump‘s vow to implement increasing tariffs on European allies until the US is allowed to buy Greenland.
“Tariffs would undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. Europe will remain united, coordinated, and committed to upholding its sovereignty,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Antonio Costa said in posts on X.
The bloc’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said tariffs would hurt prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic, while distracting the EU from its “core task” of ending Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“China and Russia must be having a field day. They are the ones who benefit from divisions among allies,” Kallas said on X.
“Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity. If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO.”
Ambassadors from the European Union’s 27 countries will convene on Sunday for an emergency meeting to discuss their response to the tariff threat.
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Israel Says US Gaza Executive Board Composition Against Its Policy
FILE PHOTO: Displaced Palestinians shelter at a tent camp in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, January 14, 2026. REUTERS/Haseeb Alwazeer/File Photo
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said on Saturday that this week’s Trump administration announcement on the composition of a Gaza executive board was not coordinated with Israel and ran counter to government policy.
It said Foreign Minister Gideon Saar would raise the issue with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The statement did not specify what part of the board’s composition contradicted Israeli policy. An Israeli government spokesperson declined to comment.
The board, unveiled by the White House on Friday, includes Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. Israel has repeatedly opposed any Turkish role in Gaza.
Other members of the executive board include Sigrid Kaag, the U.N. special coordinator for the Middle East peace process; an Israeli‑Cypriot billionaire; and a minister from the United Arab Emirates, which established relations with Israel in 2020.
Washington this week also announced the start of the second phase of President Donald Trump’s plan, announced in September, to end the war in Gaza. This includes creating a transitional technocratic Palestinian administration in the enclave.
The first members of the so-called Board of Peace – to be chaired by Trump and tasked with supervising Gaza’s temporary governance – were also named. Members include Rubio, billionaire developer Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.