Maher Bitar will be the National Security Council’s new Senior Director for Intelligence Programs under the Biden administration, despite a history riddled in Anti-Semitic activism.
Maher previously worked for the Obama administration as the NSC’s Director for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs and was deeply involved in Trump’s first impeachment as Rep. Adam Schiff’s top legal adviser and general counsel for House Intelligence Committee Democrats.
In Bitar’s new role, he will be responsible for relaying sensitive intelligence material between the White House and intelligence community and will guide President Biden on critical policy decisions.
In 2006, Bitar helped organize a Palestine Solidarity Movement (PSM) conference at Georgetown University as a board member for Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) the same year he is pictured dancing in front of a “Divest from Israel” sign.
The PSM advocates for divestment from Israel and right of return to Israel for the Palestinian people, and the SJP hosts an annual Israel Apartheid Week “promoting Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) for Palestinian freedom, justice and equality,” according to the Israel Apartheid Week website.
If the Palestinian push for “right of return” is granted, this would ultimately spell the end of the Jewish state and would impose overwhelming national security breaches for Israel, as Palestinians generally do not recognize Israel’s right to exist and would vastly outnumber the Jewish population.
In November 2020, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called the BDS movement a “cancer” and “anti-Semitic,” a sentiment echoed by Austria, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain, according to the Jewish Virtual Library.
Robert Malley, who is anticipated to be Biden’s choice for special envoy to Iran, celebrated Bitar’s appointment.
“Can’t think of a better choice than Maher. The most professional, principled, dedicated public servant I’ve ever had the honor to work with, a wonderful colleague, and a dear friend,” tweeted Malley.
Malley has his own anti-Israel history, known for appeasing terrorist regimes in the Middle East and downplaying the Iranian regime’s threat to Israel’s sovereignty, as The Foreign Desk reported Tuesday.
