New US ambassador to Israel Jack Lew arrives to take charge

Jack Lew has arrived in Tel Aviv on Friday after taking charge of the US ambassador to Israel on Friday. The position had been vacant for months, as war between Israel and Hamas rages. According to a report by AFP, Jack Lew, who was sworn in on Thursday, was on board the plane that brought US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel. Despite being Israel’s closest ally, the US has not had an ambassador to the West Asian nation since July when Lew’s predecessor Tom Nides departed. At his confirmation hearing after the October 7 Hamas’ onslaught, Lew said Israel’s “security is paramount” and called Iran “a threat to regional stability and Israel’s existence.” An Orthodox Jew who observes the weekly sabbath, 68-year-old Lew is expected to present his credentials to Israeli President Isaac Herzog in the coming days. Previously, Lew served as the 76th Secretary of the Treasury, White House Chief of Staff and twice as Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), under both President Clinton and President Obama. He previously served in the Department of State as Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources under Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton. Lew began his career in Washington in 1973 as a legislative aide. From 1979 to 1987, he was a principal domestic policy advisor to House Speaker Thomas P. O’Neill, Jr, when he served the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee as Assistant Director and then Executive Director. He was the Speaker’s liaison to the Greenspan Commission, which negotiated a bipartisan solution to extend the solvency of Social Security in 1983, and he was responsible for domestic and economic issues, including Medicare, budget, tax, trade, appropriations, and energy issues. After the Obama Administration, Lew served on the boards of the National Library of Israel, USA (where he was co-president); the National Committee on US China Relations (where he was chair); the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; and the Financial Services Volunteer Corps. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Social Insurance, and of the bar in Massachusetts and the District of Columbia. Ambassador Lew is a graduate of Harvard College (AB) and Georgetown University Law Center (JD). He has received three honorary degrees. With inputs from agencies