A former Trump-era adviser to the U.S. ambassador to Israel is calling on Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to resign after she "embarrassed herself" while responding to the terrorist attacks on Israel.
In an early morning post to social media on Sunday, Aryeh Lightstone, who served as a senior adviser to former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman from 2017 to 2021, took aim at Whitmer for her comments following the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel.
"I have been in touch with communities impacted by what’s happening in the region. It is abhorrent. My heart is with all those impacted. We need peace in this region," Whitmer wrote on X, with no mention of Israel.
"I hosted you for Thanksgiving in Israel just a few years ago. I am embarrassed for you and by you & disappointed that I opened my home and my family to you," Lightstone responded to Whitmer.
Elaborating on his comments, Lightstone — who's in Israel witnessing the conflict as it unfolds — told OceanNewsUK he was shocked by the "fraudulent nature" of Whitmer's response.
"The job of a leader is to know the difference between right and wrong. The job of a politician is apparently to say nothing, and she demonstrated that she's a politician," he said.
"She watched this happen in real time. And to watch women and children be kidnapped and raped and murdered, and to not be able to say something? She should resign immediately," Lightstone said of Whitmer.
Lightstone said he hosted Whitmer, her husband, and 25 other Michigan residents at his home in Israel for a Thanksgiving meal in 2019, when the governor had the opportunity to witness first-hand the ongoing conflict taking place in the country.
"She was in Israel. She saw what happened. She went to the border. She saw the people," he said. "I'm a Republican… but she wanted a place for Thanksgiving and every American should have a place to go for Thanksgiving. So I welcomed her into my home and I invited 25 Michiganders at my expense to host them."
Lightstone said he and the governor spoke about the U.S.-Israel relationship and ways to strengthen it.
Following the pushback she received from the tweet, Whitmer made another post on Saturday in which she included Israel's name.
"The images that continue to come out of Israel on the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War are devastating. The loss of lives in Israel –children and families – is absolutely heartbreaking and appalling," the governor said in her follow-up post on X. "There is no justification for violence against Israel. My support is steadfast."
Asked about Whitmer's follow-up tweet, Lightstone said he believes she only shared it because she was "embarrassed for herself."
"There's only two sides of this. There's a right side and a wrong side. She chose the wrong side," he said. "I don't think she's a bad person. I just think she's a politician."
Whitmer's office did not immediately respond to OceanNewsUK's request for comment.
During his conversation with OceanNewsUK, Lightstone also underscored his work to strengthen the U.S.-Israel relationship while serving with Friedman. Specifically, he touted the Abraham Accords, which were negotiated by the Trump administration and first signed in 2020. The agreements secured diplomatic relations between four Muslim-majority countries with Israel, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
"Israel is resilient, Israel is strong, but Israel is going through the worst day in its history. Saying anything short of that is mischaracterizing the day. It's the worst day in Israel's history," Lightstone said.
"Israel has never asked for and never will ask for a single American troop on the ground here," he added, highlighting the need for other means of support for Israel. "Every one of these people chanting 'death to Israel' finishes the sentence with 'death to America.'"
Lightstone also attempted to throw cold water on reports that suggested Israel was not united in its efforts to combat terrorists in the region.
"It was reported that in the last nine months that Israel is deeply divided. Israel is not deeply divided. Israel is fully and totally united," he said. "The people of the United States of America, I believe, strongly love Israel."
He also noted that there "can be no whataboutism" about the situation taking place in Israel.
"There is no parallel. This is not a competition between two sides that both have merit. One is a side of animals and the other is the side of democracy. This is the clearest distinction I've seen in my life since 9/11," he said.
