Posted on 11/29/21
| News Source: i24
Banking executive fills position left vacant since the departure of David Friedman
After nearly a year without a US ambassador in Israel, newly confirmed envoy Thomas Nides arrived to the Jewish state on Monday morning to take up the post left vacant after the departure of David Friedman.
The Biden appointee was confirmed by the Senate on November 3 and will replace senior diplomat Michael Ratney, who has served as charge d'affaires at the US embassy in Jerusalem since June.
Nides posted on Twitter that landing at Ben Gurion Airport to be the ambassador was an unforgettable moment and that he is following the quarantine rules imposed by Israel to prevent the spread of the omicron variant, "eagerly awaiting a negative test result so I can begin to meet many of you soon!"
He will be residing in Jerusalem but not at the 19th-century building owned by the US on Agron Street like his predecessor Friedman in his final months in the position. Instead, a diplomatic source told The Jerusalem Post that Nides will be staying at a rental home in Israel's capital.
Nides was the managing director and vice chairman of Morgan Stanley and previously served as deputy secretary of state for management and resources from 2010 to 2013 in the Obama administration.
"There's no greater privilege than what I have been asked to do to represent the United States of America to the State of Israel," the envoy said in a video message posted to his Twitter account.
"I look forward to traveling all over this beautiful country and meeting many of you in the weeks and months ahead."