By Nathan Guttman September 18, 2017

The campaign to paint National Security Advisor Gen. H. R. McMaster as being anti-Israel suffered a blow Monday after the American general got a seal of approval from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“There were no signs of hostility,” Netanyahu when asked by an Israeli reporter whether he sensed McMaster was hostile. “He was attentive.”

McMaster participated in a meeting between Netanyahu and President Trump in New York Monday.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The national security adviser had been targeted by nationalistic elements within and outside the White House, who depicted him as a “globalist” and an impediment to Trump’s “America first” and pro-Israel foreign policy. McMaster is frequently criticized on Breitbart, the far-right website controlled by former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon.

The Zionist Organization of America issued a report last month laying out a case against McMaster and his supposedly lacking support for the Jewish state. The report won the blessing of Republican mega-donor Sheldon Adelson, who is also close to Netanyahu.

ZOA president Morton Klein said in response that Netanyahu’s comment has no significance, because “the prime minister cannot publicly criticize a major official” of the U.S. government.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.

This year, we have stood together in strength and sorrow. Our Forward team has worked around the clock to help you find clarity amid the chaos.

If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.

Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism. 

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount