US Ambassador Aide Accused of Altering Israel Reports

A senior advisor to the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Millstein, allegedly worked for over a year to alter or block embassy reports to Washington concerning Israeli government actions, particularly in Judea and Samaria, according to The New York Times. Citing 12 sources familiar with the matter, the report states Millstein, who joined the embassy in April 2025, purportedly blocked some dispatches, significantly edited others, and delayed reports until their information became outdated.

These interventions reportedly included reports on Israeli settlement construction and settler violence in Judea and Samaria, particularly following Israel's approval of a large number of settlements in late March and a surge in settler violence in the spring. In another instance, U.S. diplomats prepared a dispatch in the summer of 2025 warning of a deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza after Israel imposed a blockade on aid. However, Millstein allegedly sent a different dispatch to Washington that presented the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, a U.S.-backed and controversial organization, in a more favorable light, a situation previously covered by the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft.

It remains unclear to what extent Ambassador Mike Huckaby was aware of Millstein's actions or if they influenced White House policy. Sources indicated that Huckaby sometimes participated with Millstein in blocking or altering reports, but at other times intervened to limit Millstein's actions, deeming them excessive.