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NYT: Top Aide to Ambassador Huckabee Suppressed Reports Critical of Israel

newsOct 8, 2026251,733

The New York Times reported that David Milstein, a top aide to U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee in Jerusalem, repeatedly suppressed, substantially revised, and delayed embassy memos critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, according to multiple U.S. officials. The NYT account says Milstein blocked a memo about killings of nine Americans by Israeli settlers from reaching Washington and argued the embassy should tell U.S. officials that Israel was properly handling related investigations. Since taking the post in April 2025, Milstein reportedly censored reporting on settler violence, removed content critical of Israel, and pushed language changes such as urging the State Department to refer to the West Bank as "Judea and Samaria," the paper wrote. The report notes Milstein is the stepson of right wing radio host Mark Levin and that some embassy staff described a culture of fear around sending information perceived as negative about Israel. Outlets including Common Dreams and the Times of Israel covered the NYT findings; critics quoted in posts called for Milstein's firing and urged investigations into whether embassy reporting was being skewed to favor Netanyahu. The immediate consequence is new scrutiny of embassy reporting practices and calls from observers for accountability and oversight of Huckabee's team in Jerusalem.

The Tennessee Holler
@thetnholler.bsky.social

“Since taking up his post in April 2025, Huckabee aide David Milstein, 36, has repeatedly suppressed or significantly revised embassy reporting on Israeli activities to present Netanyahu in a favorable light.” www.nytimes.com/2026/10/08/w...

764Yesterday
Prem Thakker ツ
@premthakker.bsky.social

My gosh. Mike Huckabee's top aide: —Covered up an embassy report on Israeli killings of 9 Americans —Fabricated Orwellian reports on Israeli settler violence & the "Gaza Humanitarian Foundation" to make it sound good for Israel —Questioned staff on whether they were “pro-Israel” or “pro-Hamas”

In late March, at the height of the Iran war, Israel quietly approved more settlements in the Israeli-occupied West Bank than it ever had at one time.
Staff members at the United States Embassy in Jerusalem saw the move as potentially flouting one of President Trump's explicit red lines for Israel - no annexation of the West Bank - and drafted an urgent report intended for policy makers in Washington.
That memo never reached Washington. It was quashed by David Milstein, a top aide to Ambassador Mike Huckabee, according to three U.S. officials briefed on the process.
This was no isolated incident.
Since taking up his post in April 2025, Mr. Milstein, 36, has repeatedly suppressed or significantly revised embassy reporting on Israeli activities to present the Netanyahu government in a favorable light, according to a dozen people who work with or interact with Mr. Milstein in both Jerusalem and Washington:
• As settler violence in the West Bank surged in the spring, for instance, he stymied embassy reporting suggesting that the Israeli government was failing to take action, according to the three officials. Instead the embassy sent a cable to Washington, viewed by The New York Times, praising Israel for "cracking down" on the attacks.
• When members of Congress pushed for accountability over the killings of nine Palestinian Americans by Israeli settlers and security forces, he suppressed a detailed report that the embassy staff had written, effectively stonewalling lawmakers' efforts to gain information, according to multiple officials briefed on the matter.
5962d ago
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