Western Walk This Way! New US ambassador to Israel randomly bumps into Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler while touring the old city of Jerusalem
- David Friedman and Steven Tyler met at the Western Wall in Jerusalem
- The pair run into each other and exchanged a few words before going their separate ways
- Friedman is in Israel to take up his position as the new US ambassador to Israel
- Tyler is in town for a concert with his band Aerosmith - his first in the country in 22 years
The controversial new US ambassador to Israel David Friedman randomly bumped into Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler while touring Jerusalem.
The pair met at the Western Wall - the holiest site where Jews can pray - on Monday, and exchanged a few words before going their separate ways.
Newly-appointed Friedman, 57, had arrived earlier that day to take up his post and Tyler, 69, was in town for a concert in Tel Aviv - his first in the country in 22 years.
Friedman - who came to the holy site straight from the airport in Tel Aviv - kissed the wall before he prayed for Trump, who is set to arrive next Monday as part of his foreign trip.
'I prayed for the president, I wished him success especially on his upcoming trip, I know it´s going to be an amazing trip,' the new ambassador said.
The controversial new US ambassador to Israel David Friedman coincidentally bumped into Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler while touring Jerusalem
The pair met at the Western Wall on Monday, and chatted briefly before going their separate ways
Friedman, 57, had arrived earlier that day to take up his position as the new ambassador and Tyler, 69, was in town for a concert in Tel Aviv
Tyler arrived in the country with his girlfriend on Saturday. He and his band are set to perform their first concert in Israel in 22 years
The appointment of this Jewish-American bankruptcy lawyer comes as Trump seeks ways to restart moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts, but questions have been raised over whether Friedman will be able to put his personal views aside.
Friedman - an Orthodox Jew - has been a strong supporter of Israeli settlement building in the occupied West Bank, and has expressed scepticism over the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the basis of years of US peace efforts.
'There has never been a "two-state solution" – only a "two-state narrative," but even the narrative itself now needs to end,' he wrote in an op-ed in 2016.
Friedman - who has even clashed with American Jewish progressive groups - has notably dubbed liberals 'worse than kapos', a reference to Jewish collaborators who worked as guards in Nazi concentration camps.
He has also advocated breaking with decades of precedent by moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem, a prospect deeply alarming to Palestinians.
Trump - expected to visit Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories on May 22 and 23 - vowed to move the embassy to Jerusalem during his campaign, but has since backed away, saying the move was still being looked at.
Friedman kissed the wall before he prayed for Trump. 'I prayed for the president, I wished him success especially on his upcoming trip, I know it´s going to be an amazing trip,' he said
His appointment has come with controversy, especially because has expressed scepticism over the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
'There has never been a "two-state solution" – only a "two-state narrative," but even the narrative itself now needs to end,' he wrote in an op-ed in 2016 in the Israel National News
Friedman has even called liberals 'worse than kapos', a reference to Jewish collaborators who worked as guards in Nazi concentration camps
He will have to decide by the beginning of June whether to continue with the policy of his predecessors and again block the embassy's transfer.
Speaking at a pre-election rally in October in support of Trump on Jerusalem's Mount Zion, Friedman said the now US president would fire US State Department 'lifers' who refused to move the embassy.
Trump himself has sent mixed signals over how he will approach the decades-old conflict.
He cast uncertainty over years of international efforts to foster a two-state solution when he met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in February.
At that meeting, he said he would support a single state if it led to peace, delighting Israeli right-wingers who want to see their country annex most of the occupied West Bank.
At the same time, he urged Israel to hold back on settlement building in the West Bank, a longstanding concern of Palestinians and much of the world.
One of his most contentious ideas is his plan to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem
Trump promised to do this on his campaign trail but has since shied away from that vow, saying the move was still being looked at
Friedman has even been critical of the US State Department and asked then-President Obama during a Trump campaign rally to fire State Department 'lifers' who refused to move the embassy
He also held face-to-face talks in Washington with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas earlier this month, confidently predicting that a peace agreement was within grasp, brushing aside the complexities of a conflict that has bedevilled successive US leaders.
'We will get it done,' Trump said, flaunting what he has described as his deal-making prowess.
'It is something that I think is, frankly, maybe not as difficult as people have thought over the years.'
Friedman and the Trump's family have also financially supported Israeli settlements
Trump, the parents of his son-in-law Jared Kushner and Friedman have all reportedly contributed financially to Beit El settlement, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank considered illegal by the international community.
According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Friedman has been president of a group called American Friends of Beit El Institutions.
It said the group raises about $2 million a year for Beit El.
Israeli settlements are viewed as illegal under international law and major stumbling blocks to peace as they are built on land the Palestinians see as part of their future state.
It's difficult to know how the Trump administration will move forward with the Israeli Palestinian conflict since the president has flip-flopped on the issue several times
When he met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu , Trump said he would support a single state if it led to peace. The ambassador is pictured with Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch at the Western Wall plaza
But he also urged Israel to hold back on settlement building in the West Bank, a great concern of Palestinians and much of the world
In 1967, Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967, an unprecedented move never recognized by the international community
Israel occupied the West Bank and east Jerusalem in 1967 in moves never recognised by the international community.
It later annexed east Jerusalem and claims the entire city as its undivided capital. The Palestinians see east Jerusalem as the capital of their future state.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Sunday that Trump was still assessing whether relocating the embassy would help or harm chances for peace.
Netanyahu responded by saying on Monday that 'not only would moving the embassy not harm the peace process, but to the contrary.
'It would advance it by fixing a historic wrong and shatter the Palestinian illusion that Jerusalem is not the capital of Israel.'
As part of his foreign tip, Trump will also stop in Saudi Arabia and the Vatican, as well as Brussels and Sicily for NATO and G7 summits.
The state later annexed east Jerusalem - which Palestinians see as part of their land - and claims the entire city as its undivided capital. Friedman is accompanied by the rabbi of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinowitz, before he prayed
Netanyahu has called on the Trump administration to follow Friedman's idea. He said: 'not only would moving the embassy not harm the peace process, but to the contrary it would advance it by fixing a historic wrong and shatter the Palestinian illusion that Jerusalem is not the capital of Israel
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