Will Defense Secretary Mattis help or harm Israel?

President-elect Donald Trump said he would nominate as defense secretary Gen. James Mattis, a pick that has already stirred controversy among right-wing pro-Israel groups, with some lamenting the choice and others praising it.

“We are going to appoint ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis as our secretary of defense,” Trump said Thursday at his first post-election rally, in Cincinnati, and using the nickname for the retired Marines general.

Late last month, when it first emerged that Trump was considering Mattis for the job, the Zionist Organization of America said it would oppose the pick, citing a 2013 appearance at the Aspen Security Forum shortly after he retired as chief of the US Central Command.

“I paid a military-security price every day as the commander of CentCom because the Americans were seen as biased in support of Israel,” Mattis said then of his job, which involves interactions with America’s Arab allies.

 

Read More: Will Defense Secretary Mattis help or harm Israel? – American Politics – Jerusalem Post