David Friedman was at the center of historic breakthroughs that benefit both America and the Holy Land he now calls home

Photos: Pinchas Emanuel, AP images, Flash90

If the meaning of a man’s desk is the subject of intense psychological debate, former American ambassador to Israel David Friedman’s personal office leaves you in no doubt: it’s home to one of the most transformative personalities in recent Middle Eastern history.

Near the door to the room in his Talbiyeh home in Jerusalem is a large plaque, an exact copy of the one at the entrance to the US embassy that Friedman inaugurated in the capital of the Jewish state.

Further along is a sledgehammer in a decorative frame, which turns out to be the one he used to break into the route discovered in the Kosel Tunnels used by the Olei Regel.

But ink hardly dry, nestling in its case built into the bookshelves, is an item that encapsulates the full impact of what Donald Trump’s confidant and emissary has been part of.

In a holy city bursting with shuls housing Torah scrolls each with their own proud tale of Jewish history, the small version in Friedman’s office must surely be unique for the tale it tells.

“I think this is probably the only sefer Torah that has letters written by both gedolei Yisrael such as Rav Chaim Kanievsky, statesmen such as Binyamin Netanyahu, and leading members of the American administration such as Jared Kushner,” says Friedman, opening the case reverently. “Now and then I’ll hold a minyan here in my home, and then we use it.”

The “diplomatic sefer Torah” is perhaps the item that best encapsulates the multiple strands of Friedman’s identity and career path that converged in recent years.

A successful New York lawyer who counted the former president as a client, Friedman, 63, is an Orthodox Jew proud to be known for supporting causes that trend Orthodox and pro-Israel. But it was only in 2017 — when Trump appointed him as ambassador to Israel, despite his lack of diplomatic experience — that these strands started to come together.

Long a supporter of the Israeli right’s settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria, Friedman not only failed to apologize to the international media for that past — he turned it into the fulcrum of his diplomacy.

“When we realized that the Palestinians weren’t ready for a deal, we said it’s time to change direction,” Friedman explains. “If Israel has such extensive ties with Arab nations under the table, and most Muslim countries need America’s backing, let’s see if we can’t bring them out into the open.”

A year after the diplomatic breakthroughs known as the Abraham Accords which were a result of that paradigm shift, David Friedman sits down to describe what that process looked like from the inside. With the passage of that year, much has changed. Donald Trump is in the political wilderness, very different administrations hold the levers of power at the helm in both Washington and Jerusalem, and the momentum of Middle East peace seems to have stalled.

David Friedman hasn’t despaired. From the private sector he’s determined to pursue the openings to the Middle East that his boss’s downfall cut short. As befits the elder statesman of Trump’s Orthodox inner circle, “Hakol bidei Shamayim, everything is in G-d’s hands” is a frequent reference in our conversation.

And if there’s one diplomatic tip that Friedman wants his successor, Biden appointee Tom Nides to take to heart, it’s the freedom of maneuver that Trump gave to Israel. “This is a 73-year-old country. After all these years, it’s definitely time to give it some independence.”