David Milstein (advisor)
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David Milstein | |
|---|---|
| Special Assistant to the U.S. Ambassador to Israel | |
| Assumed office 2025 | |
| Personal details | |
| Relations | Mark Levin (stepfather) |
David Milstein is an American serving as special assistant to the U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.[1]
Milstein previously worked as a legislative aide for US senator Ted Cruz.[2]
Career
[edit]Milstein has been described as a "pro-Israel enforcer" within the Trump Administration, and was a major opponent of ousted press officer for Israeli-Palestinian affairs Shahed Ghoreishi.[1][3][4] He has also advocated for the State Department to refer to the West Bank as Judea and Samaria, the biblical name for the region widely used by Israel.[3] Milstein holds a top-secret security clearance.[5]
In September 2025, Milstein was listed by The Jerusalem Post as 12th on the 25 ViZionaries list.[2]
In July 2025, Milstein and U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee agreed to meet with Jonathan J. Pollard, an American formerly imprisoned for spying for Israel.[6] Milstein and Huckabee met Pollard at the US Embassy in Jerusalem.[6][7]
On September 8, 2026, Milstein advocated for the publication of a memo attributed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio that condemned the UK, French, and Canadian governments for sanctions blocking imports from the occupied West Bank, writing, "These tactics unacceptably draw from the playbook of the antisemitic boycotts, divestments and sanctions movement."[8] The memo was ultimately not released following opposition from the White House and senior State Department leadership.[8]
Personal life
[edit]Milstein is the stepson of conservative media personality Mark Levin, a close friend of Donald Trump.[5]
In June 2019, Milstein announced his engagement to Miriam Feiglin.[9]
Wedding donations
[edit]On September 21, 2206, Politico published an investigation into Milstein, reporting he had solicited cash gifts from Israeli citizens to celebrate his wedding.[5][10] On September 16, 2026, Milstein sent a Paperless Post wedding invitation "monetary wedding gift[s]" in either "U.S. dollars or Israeli shekels" along with a QR code.[5] A member of the national intelligence community interviewed by Politico described it as a "walking counterintelligence red flag."[5][11]
Ambassador Huckabee subsequently defended Milstein in an X post, writing he was a "brilliant policy wonk."[11] Milstein's stepfather Levin wrote in an X post that "David was asked by family members, who live all over the world and throughout the country, about gifts for his upcoming wedding and if he was registered anywhere."[11]
Philip Klein wrote an opinion in the National Review Online describing Politico's article as a "Disgusting Yom Kippur War on David Milstein", writing that "it is customary in Israel for people to give cash wedding gifts, which they view as more practical than, say, purchasing china or a waffle iron for newlyweds."[12]
References
[edit]- 1 2 "After Macklemore sacking, Ed Sheeran enters a 'Sun City' moment | Responsible Statecraft". responsiblestatecraft.org. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- 1 2 STAFF, ByJERUSALEM POST (2025-09-21). "25 ViZionaries David Milstein: No. 12 | The Jerusalem Post". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- 1 2 Hudson, John (2025-08-20). "State Dept. fires official after internal debates over Israel". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- ↑ "Fired State Dept. press officer claims Huckabee, aide usurping Trump's 'America First' policy". The Times of Israel. 2025-08-27. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Wren, Adam; Burns, Dasha; Steakin, Will (2026-09-21). "Huckabee's 'walking counterintel red flag'". POLITICO. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- 1 2 Odenheimer, Natan; Rasgon, Adam (2025-11-20). "Huckabee Held Meeting at U.S. Embassy With American Who Spied for Israel". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- ↑ "MAGA Freaks Out That Trump Ambassador Met With Spy Who Sold Out U.S." The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- 1 2 Pamuk, Humeyra; Cornwell, Alexander; Pamuk, Humeyra; Cornwell, Alexander (2026-09-23). "EXCLUSIVE: US drafted a memo condemning UK over West Bank sanctions. It was never released". Reuters. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
- ↑ "Huckabee adviser David Milstein engaged to Miriam Feiglin". Israel National News. 2026-09-16. Retrieved 2026-09-21.
- ↑ Weiss, Melissa (2026-09-23). "Politico picks Yom Kippur to attack Huckabee's observant Jewish aide". Jewish Insider. Retrieved 2026-09-24.
- 1 2 3 "Huckabee adviser accused of breach after asking Israeli guests for monetary wedding gift". The Times of Israel. 2026-09-22. ISSN 0040-7909. Retrieved 2026-09-22.
- ↑ Klein, Philip (2026-09-22). "Politico's Yom Kippur War on David Millstein | National Review". National Review. Retrieved 2026-09-23.