Thomas Nides, the American ambassador to Israel for the past two years, will resign this summer.
According to Axios, which cited two U.S. sources, Nides informed top personnel at the embassy on Tuesday morning of his intended departure.
The ambassador had told the Americans. During a visit to Washington this week, he informed Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan that he wished to resign.
Nides gave personal explanations for his absence from his family, which started in December 2021.
To further improve the special relationship between the United States and Israel and to advance American diplomatic, economic, and security interests, Tom has worked with characteristic zeal and expertise, according to Blinken, who spoke to Axios.
“We will all miss having him represent us in Israel, but I know he looks forward to some well-deserved time with his family.”
On Monday, Nides informed the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office of his choice.
In the past two years, he has collaborated with three prime ministers: Yair Lapid, Naftali Bennett, and Benjamin Netanyahu.
There have been some controversies throughout the ambassador’s term. When discussing the government’s proposal for judicial reform in February, he said, “We’re telling the prime minister—as I tell my kids—to pump the brakes, slow down, try to get a consensus, bring the parties together.”
Amichai Chikli, the minister in charge of diaspora affairs, reprimanded Nides for his remarks and advised him to “slam the breaks on yourself and mind your own business.”
Nides told the extreme-left organization Americans for Peace Now in March 2022, “Your agenda is where my heart is.”
Nides caused controversy shortly after he arrived in Israel when he declared that he would avoid offending anyone by avoiding Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria. Further, he criticized “the idea of settlement growth, which infuriates me, when they do things that just infuriate the situation both in east Jerusalem and the West Bank.”
In October 2022, Nides defended his remarks to JNS, saying, “I will talk to anyone. I try not to act in ways only to enrage people symbolically.
If I told you, “Oh, I’m never going to talk to anyone who lives in a settlement,” there would be a significant difference.
If people want to come to see me and discuss why it’s vital they live in the settlements, I’m more than glad to have those conversations with them in a very transparent manner.
I won’t talk to the leadership of the settlement community. Anyone who calls me and has an opinion is welcome to visit and speak with me.
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