🇺🇸🇮🇱⚡️ — David Milstein, a senior adviser to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, has suppressed or rewritten diplomatic reports to portray Benjamin Netanyahu's government more favorably, according to a NYT investigation based on interviews with U.S. officials and internal State Department documents.

Since April 2025, Milstein has blocked warnings about Israeli settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank, including a major March approval that diplomats feared violated President Trump's opposition to annexation.

He also altered reports on rising settler violence, replacing criticism of Israeli authorities with praise for their response.

The investigation found that Milstein suppressed a report detailing limited progress in investigations into the killings of nine Palestinian Americans by Israeli settlers or security forces. He also rewrote a warning about deadly incidents at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution sites to portray the operation as successful.

His oversight of embassy communications reduced reporting on Palestinian affairs from several cables weekly to only a few monthly, prompting some White House and State Department officials to seek information directly from embassy staff.

Milstein, the stepson of pro-Israel conservative commentator Mark Levin, has faced criticism from officials concerned that Washington is receiving distorted intelligence about Israeli actions. Huckabee rejected the allegations, defended Milstein's integrity, and expressed confidence in his work.