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As President Biden visited Israel on Wednesday to pledge U.S. support in its fight against Hamas, his nominee to fill the conspicuously empty American ambassador\u2019s post to the country faced Republican opposition at home.<\/p>\n
The nomination of Jacob J. Lew, who served as Treasury secretary during the Obama administration, was announced last month but has gained urgency since Hamas attackers slaughtered at least 1,400 Israelis on Oct. 7. The attacks prompted Israel to launch an intensive bombing campaign against the Gaza Strip, which is governed by Hamas.<\/p>\n
But despite pleas from the Biden administration and leading Democrats to confirm Mr. Lew quickly, most Republican senators on the Foreign Relations Committee expressed opposition to his confirmation, arguing he was unfit for the post because of his past work on a multinational deal to curb Iran\u2019s nuclear ambitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need this thing filled. The problem I have is that it needs to be filled with the right person,\u201d Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, the top Republican on the panel, said during Mr. Lew\u2019s confirmation hearing Wednesday. He accused Mr. Lew of acting in \u201cwhat I think was a backhanded way of supporting Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Treasury secretary, Mr. Lew played a key role in negotiating and promoting a deal that eased sanctions on Iran\u2019s nuclear sector in exchange for Tehran\u2019s accepting limitations on its nuclear enrichment and related activities. But Republicans charge that Mr. Lew lied to lawmakers at the time about how the deal would be implemented, particularly when it came to access to previously frozen funds to Iran, which they believe Iran used to build up terrorist proxy groups posing a threat to Israel, including Hamas.<\/p>\n
The Republican opposition is not expected to kill Mr. Lew\u2019s candidacy. Democrats \u2014 who expressed support for him \u2014 hold a majority on the panel. But it could complicate efforts to get his bid through the full Senate quickly, by forcing Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, to use time-consuming procedural maneuvers to set up a vote.<\/p>\n
Israel has lacked a Senate-confirmed U.S. ambassador since Thomas R. Nides left the post in July. Mr. Schumer and other Democrats have warned that continuing to leave the post empty would be detrimental to the United States\u2019 ability to support Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cDelaying him would be egregious at a time like this,\u201d Mr. Schumer said Tuesday of Mr. Lew on the floor, adding that the nominee was \u201ca ferocious ally of Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Lew sought to display his pro-Israel bona fides on Wednesday, telling senators about his Jewish family\u2019s Zionist roots and listing his efforts as Treasury secretary to impose and enforce sanctions against both Hamas and Iran.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot remember a time when Israel\u2019s struggle for security was not at the forefront of my mind,\u201d Mr. Lew said. He added: \u201cIran is a threat to regional stability and to Israel\u2019s existence. If confirmed, I will uphold President Biden\u2019s commitment to deny Iran a nuclear weapon.\u201d<\/p>\n
But his declarations did little to deter Republican senators.<\/p>\n
Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, accused Mr. Lew of having kept secret from Congress a license that would have allowed Iran to convert funds held at a bank in Oman into euros, and pressured banks around the world to do business with Tehran, citing the findings from a 2018 report from Republicans on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Senator John Barrasso, Republican of Wyoming, accused Mr. Lew of acting as the Iranian government\u2019s banker by negotiating deals to release funds in exchange for American prisoners.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe massive influx of cash was ultimately a direct deposit into Iran\u2019s terrorism account,\u201d Mr. Barrasso said.<\/p>\n
Mr. Lew argued that he had adhered strictly to the terms of the deal easing nuclear-related sanctions, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action \u2014 and frustrated officials in Tehran by refusing to go any further.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey complained that my actions were what kept them from getting full access to the world financial system,\u201d he said. \u201cWe did the letter of the J.C.P.O.A., nothing more.\u201d<\/p>\n
If confirmed as ambassador, Mr. Lew will be starting at a time of heightened fears that the conflict between Israel and Hamas might engulf the region, potentially even pulling in U.S. forces.<\/p>\n
\u201cPreventing this from becoming a multifront war is hugely important for Israel, for the region, for the world,\u201d he said. He added that bringing home the Americans thought to be hostages of Hamas would be one of his top priorities. At least 13 Americans are unaccounted for, according to the State Department, but it is unclear how many are being held hostage.<\/p>\n
Yet Mr. Lew conceded that longer-term goals such as the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, and an eventual two-state solution with the Palestinians, would probably have to wait until hostilities died down.<\/p>\n
He also promised that he would do his utmost to ensure that civilians in Gaza receive humanitarian assistance, drawing a distinction between them and Hamas militants.<\/p>\n
But he resisted Democrats\u2019 efforts to get him to urge the Israelis to exercise restraint.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not the time for us to be lecturing Israel on what they need to do,\u201d Mr. Lew said, adding that Israeli officials knew they had to conduct the war \u201cin a way that is consistent with minimizing the impact on innocent civilians.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n