By Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden's nominee for ambassador to Israel, former Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, was expected ultimately to win U.S. Senate confirmation, despite opposition from Republicans at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday tied to his past involvement in negotiations with Iran.
Biden's fellow Democrats have been rushing to confirm Lew quickly, saying they want to offer Israel staunch support in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 attack on Israeli villages and military bases by Gaza-based Palestinian Hamas gunmen who killed 1,400 people and took about 200 hostages.
Washington has not had an ambassador to Israel since July, when Tom Nides left the post. Rising concern over the conflict between Israel and Hamas has drawn attention to the vacancy. Lew was nominated in September.
Republicans at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing questioned Lew about a 2015 Iran nuclear deal sealed during his time in former Democratic President Barack Obama's cabinet.
The hearing took place as Biden visited Israel.
Democrats stressed the important of getting Lew in place quickly, including so he could help free Americans believed to be among the Hamas hostages but Republican opposition could make that difficult.
"I am committed to getting you in place as soon as possible," said the committee chairman, Democratic Senator Ben Cardin. He scheduled a business meeting for next week for a committee vote on the nomination.
Security was heightened around the U.S. Capitol complex, as it has been repeatedly since Oct. 7. The hearing was interrupted three times by shouting protesters.
Lew can be confirmed even if Republicans unite against him. Biden's fellow Democrats hold a slim majority in the committee and full Senate.
'IRAN IS A THREAT'
Senator Jim Risch, the committee's top Republican, said he agreed Israel needed an ambassador quickly, but it must be the right person. He said he had "reservations" about Lew, citing the nuclear agreement and accusing the former Treasury secretary of "backhanded support" for Iran.
Republicans - and some Democrats - objected to the international nuclear pact, in which Iran agreed to halt its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Republican former President Donald Trump, who took office in 2017, pulled Washington out of the pact in 2018.
Lew stressed repeatedly his intention to be tough on Iran, rejecting accusations he had acted inappropriately. "I want to be clear: Iran is a threat to regional stability and to Israel’s existence. If confirmed, I will uphold President Biden’s commitment to deny Iran a nuclear weapon and warning to anyone in the region to anyone who's thinking of taking advantage of the current crisis: Don't," he said.
He said he did not believe the Biden administration should seek to reopen the nuclear pact. "I believe deeply that an agreement not to have nuclear weapons would be a good thing but this is not the moment," he said.
Lew said the violence should not derail talks between Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United States seeking to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The shock Oct. 7 attack prompted fierce Israeli retaliation against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Health authorities in Gaza said at least 3,000 people had been killed in Israel's bombardment, even before hundreds of Palestinians perished on Tuesday in a blast at a Gaza hospital.
Some Republicans blamed Biden's Democratic administration's dealings with Iran, especially the release of $6 billion of Iranian assets in a prisoner swap deal, for the assault by Hamas. Administration officials say Iran has not had access to that money and could only use it for humanitarian purposes approved by the United States.
A budget expert, Lew served as chief of staff for Obama before being confirmed as Treasury secretary in February 2013 by 71-26 in the 100-member Senate, with support from both Republicans and Democrats.
Noting that he is an observant Jew, Lew expressed grief about Oct. 7. "I've never seen in my lifetime human beings treat other human beings face to face, eyeball to eyeball, the way Jews were slaughtered because they were Jews." he said.