(TJV NEWS) The White House National Security Council confirmed this week that Merav Ceren has been appointed as its new director for Israel and Iran policy. The move has sparked criticism, with some accusing her of a conflict of interest due to her past work with Israel’s Defense Ministry — a line of attack critics say echoes long-standing antisemitic tropes about dual loyalty.

Ceren, an American citizen and national security expert, has previously served in high-level policy roles in both the Senate and House, including as deputy policy director for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. According to her biography on the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), she participated in negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian officials in the West Bank during a fellowship at Israel’s Ministry of Defense and worked as a researcher at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. She holds a master’s degree in international relations from Syracuse University and is fluent in Hebrew, with proficiency in Arabic and Turkish.

Her appointment drew fire from critics including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which claimed that her past experience compromises her impartiality on Middle East policy. “Placing someone who previously worked for the Israeli military in charge of U.S. policy on Iran and Israel undermines American diplomacy and raises serious concerns about impartiality and the potential for war,” CAIR stated — despite the fact that Ceren’s work was limited to civilian policy coordination, not military service.

Responding to the backlash, National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes defended Ceren, saying, “She is a patriotic American committed to implementing President Trump’s agenda, and these lies are efforts to undermine that agenda.” Ceren’s defenders across the national security community also pushed back against what they described as baseless and bigoted attacks.

“She has a great reputation for competency and being very good on policy, and I’ve never seen anyone who knows her question her patriotism,” wrote Rebeccah Heinrichs of the Hudson Institute. Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, called the criticism “disgusting,” emphasizing that Ceren never officially served in the Israeli military and calling the accusations “antisemitism that belongs in the gutter.”

Merav Ceren’s brother, Omri Ceren, is also known in Washington as a foreign policy adviser and legislative director for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who is a vocal supporter of Israel.

Critics note that the attacks on Merav Ceren reflect an enduring antisemitic trope: the accusation that American Jews are inherently disloyal or beholden to Israel. As the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has documented, Jewish public servants have frequently been subjected to suspicion over supposed dual allegiances. Former President Richard Nixon, for instance, was caught on tape expressing fear of a “Jewish cabal” in his administration, saying he believed Jews were “born spies.”

“These kinds of attacks aren’t just unfair — they’re dangerous,” said one Jewish community leader. “They delegitimize Jewish Americans’ right to serve in government and contribute to foreign policy just like anyone else.”

As noted by JNS, the controversy over Ceren’s appointment underscores the growing politicization of U.S.-Israel policy — and the risks faced by Jewish Americans who step into the spotlight in national security roles.

Notably, a 2005 Los Angeles Times article identified Ceren as being born in Haifa, Israel. However, she left as a toddler and only returned briefly in 2004. Her career has been shaped overwhelmingly by her work in U.S. public service and foreign policy circles.

Despite the uproar, White House officials are standing by her qualifications and commitment. As one former colleague put it: “If we start disqualifying people based on their ethnicity or faith, we’re surrendering to the very prejudice we claim to oppose.”