US Envoy Accused of Censoring Reports Critical of Israel

David Millstein, a senior advisor to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, allegedly worked to filter, block, or rewrite diplomatic reports concerning the Israeli government's actions since taking office. This is according to a New York Times investigation based on interviews with 15 U.S. officials and internal State Department documents.

The report claims Millstein withheld critical information from Trump administration decision-makers. For instance, in late March, as tensions with Iran escalated, Israel approved settlement expansion. The embassy in Jerusalem drafted an urgent memo warning this could violate President Trump's red lines against annexation, but three officials stated the memo never reached Washington, having been buried by Millstein.

Furthermore, during a surge in "Jewish terrorism," Millstein allegedly blocked reports highlighting Israeli authorities' failure to act against attackers. Instead, the embassy sent a cable to Washington praising the Israeli government and Netanyahu for taking a "hard line" against the attacks.

When members of Congress sought answers about the deaths of nine Palestinian-Americans killed by settlers and security forces, Millstein prevented the distribution of a detailed embassy report, effectively blocking lawmakers' efforts to obtain information. Millstein's interventions also extended to the Palestinian Affairs Unit's communications, requiring prior approval for all statements, which led to a drastic drop in outgoing cables from several per week to a few per month as staff avoided writing reports fearing they would be omitted or rephrased.

Senior diplomats expressed deep concern that these actions distorted the picture presented to the administration. Dan Kurtzer, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel under President George Bush, stated that embassies must report everything to Washington, "the good, the bad, and the ugly," warning that failure to do so harms decision-making and could undermine presidential policy.

The issue caused frustration among senior State Department and White House officials, who sometimes had to bypass standard diplomatic channels to contact embassy staff directly. Ambassador Huckabee publicly defended Millstein, dismissing the allegations and expressing "complete confidence" in his advisor's "impeccable integrity."