Zionist Organization of America demands Trump fire National Security advisor McMasters over his 'negative' view on Israel

Times of Israel

ZOA, one of the few Jewish organizations to consistently defend US President Donald Trump has issued a report on Thursday sharply critical of McMaster.

In the report, ZOA claims that McMaster is undermining Trump’s Middle East agenda and the relationship between the United States and Israel by firing officials supportive of the Jewish state and critical of the Iran nuclear deal, including Ezra Cohen-Watnick, the hawkish former senior director for intelligence on the National Security Council. It also asserts that McMaster hired people ZOA claims have negative views on Israel, naming Kris Bauman, who will serve as point man on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Dina Powell, the deputy national security advisor.

The report calls on Trump “to remove General McMaster from his current position and reassign him to another position where he can do no further harm on these critical national security issues.”

On Friday, Trump called his national security adviser “very pro-Israel,” an apparent bid to end a barrage of attacks from the right that have depicted McMaster as hostile to Israel.

“General McMaster and I are working very well together. He is a good man and very pro-Israel. I am grateful for the work he continues to do serving our country,” Trump said.

Within the White House, McMaster is seen at odds with Trump’s top strategist Steve Bannon, whom McMaster had removed from the NSC’s principals committee. The ZOA in its statement on McMaster lamented his removal, calling Bannon “a strong opponent of the Iran deal, and a staunch supporter of Israel.”

ZOA first shared its negative assessment of McMaster with Breitbart News, the right-wing web site Bannon headed before joining the Trump campaign, according to a report on the site.