Washington – President Obama named Minneapolis attorney Sam Kaplan on Friday as ambassador to Morocco.
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Kaplan, a top cash “bundler” for Obama’s 2008 campaign finance committee, had been widely vetted by White House officials in recent weeks.
Friday’s announcement came as Kaplan and his wife, Sylvia, who is also prominent in DFL politics, were in Washington for diplomatic training.
Kaplan said he is “deeply honored” but prevented from saying more until he is confirmed by the Senate, where he will be formally introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota friend and political ally.
If confirmed, Kaplan would be the administration’s second ambassador from Minnesota. Last month, the White House named Miguel Diaz, a Roman Catholic theologian from St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict in Collegeville, to serve as his envoy to the Vatican.
Diaz, a 45-year-old adviser to the Obama campaign, would be the first Hispanic to serve as a Vatican diplomat since ties were established in 1984.
Similarly, Kaplan, 72, would break barriers by serving as one of only a few American Jewish diplomats in the Arab world. Friends and associates said he and his wife are looking forward to the post in Rabat, Morocco’s capital.
Morocco, a moderate Arab nation and U.S. ally, has a significant Jewish community amid a diverse population. Morocco could also play a key role in U.S. efforts to broker a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.
Former Vice President Walter Mondale, a former ambassador to Japan, said the announcement of Kaplan’s nomination signifies that the North African kingdom has already signed off. “It has a reputation as a moderate, Islamic, European-oriented country that is willing to work with us,” he said. “Sam will be a star there.
Nuch a Yid. What is it with Obama and all the Jews he appoints?
don’t you know a secret scheme to blame the Jews for anything and everything which goes wrong
Just another piece of evidence of how politicians reward their supporters, and since the major financial supporters of the Democratic party are Jews, that is the result. But no one should complain when people say that the Jews control the American government.
This is a very important appointment since Morocco is one of the few moderate and truly Western leaning Arab countries. In spite of an absolute monarchy people are happy. In addition Morocco is important to the US for its strategic location at the mouth of the Mediterranean Sea.
What about my party makes me a Nazi?? If Yidden make up only 2% of the population, but have 12% of the senate and 10% of the Congress and 20% of the Supreme Court, and the major roles as advisors to Obama, and many of the media commentators, whose fault is it? Them’s the facts, brother. Get used to it.