As expected, the White House has nominated Martin Indyk, an Australian-born Jew, to be the next U.S. ambassador to Israel.
Indyk, 43, is known as a staunch supporter of Israel and would be the first Jew to serve in the coveted post. If confirmed, Indyk will replace Ambassador Edward Djerejian, who resigned as ambassador last summer to head a public policy institute at Rice University in Texas.
Indyk’s nomination is “not expected to draw opposition” in the Senate, said a senior aide to Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.), the incoming chairman of the Senate International Affairs Committee, formerly called the Foreign Relations Committee.
Helms’ committee will oversee Indyk’s confirmation process.
“But we’re withholding judgment until we see his papers,” the aide added, referring to research that the committee staff puts together after nominations become final.
No hearings have yet been scheduled, but action is expected early in the new year.
Indyk, who worked as a consultant for the pro-Israel lobby, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, for about a nine-month stint in the mid-1980s, currently serves as the National Security Council Adviser on the Middle East.
He also served as the founding executive director of the influential Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a pro-Israel think tank.
AIPAC President Steve Grossman lauded Indyk for what he termed his “virtual encyclopedic knowledge” of the U.S.-Israel relationship and the Middle East in general. “Martin will be an invaluable asset to this administration and this country,” Grossman said in a telephone interview.
Grossman predicted broad bipartisan support for the nomination in the Senate.
In announcing the nomination Thursday, President Clinton said in a statement, “I am confident his extensive background and experience in the region, as well as his commitment to furthering the peace process and the role he as played as my adviser on these issues, will serve to promote American interests in the Middle East.”
The White House began contacting Jewish leaders in August to inform them of Clinton’s decision to nominate Indyk.
Indyk has served as the administration’s point man for the Middle East peace talks. He is well-known for his dual containment approach toward Iran and Iraq, which advocates a strong U.S. policy against each nation.
Indyk became a U.S. citizen immediately before he was appointed to the Clinton administration. Although the expected announcement has garnered widespread praise in the Jewish community, Indyk’s loss at the White House comes at a critical time in the Middle East peace process.
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