The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called for the immediate termination of David Milstein, an aide at the U.S. embassy in Israel, after revelations that he suppressed reports to the U.S. government about Israel’s crimes in Gaza.
The New York Times reported that Milstein, a senior adviser to US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, skewed information to portray the Netanyahu government in a favorable light. Since taking up his post in April 2025, Mr. Milstein, reportedly 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.
The New York Times reported:
“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.
“Soon after arriving in Jerusalem, Mr. Milstein began insisting on approving communications from the embassy section that handles Palestinian affairs, multiple officials with direct knowledge of the process said. The flow of cables plummeted from several a week to a few a month, as some staffers refrained from writing reports for fear that Mr. Milstein would block or rewrite them, these officials said.”
SEE: How a U.S. Diplomat Suppressed and Altered Reports Critical of Israel – The New York Times
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“We call on the Trump administration to immediately terminate David Milstein from his role at the U.S. Embassy in Israel. Mr. Milstein’s conduct has gone too far—even for an administration that has spent two years enabling and defending the Israeli government’s crimes. Mr. Milstein has been credibly accused of abusing his office to pass false information to the State Department and shield the Israeli government from accountability for its human rights abuses. This is a betrayal of his office and our nation, and he must be fired.”
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]