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Sledgehammer: How Breaking with the Past Brought Peace to the Middle East
The Trump administration’s peace agreements in the Middle East were the greatest foreign policy accomplishment in decades. Now, for the first time, his ambassador to Israel explains how they pulled it off.
Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is insanity. For decades, the U.S. State Department called it diplomacy.
David Friedman was an outside candidate when President Trump appointed him U.S. ambassador to Israel. He took office to find U.S.-Israel policy stuck in stalemate. For years, accepted wisdom was that extensive experience and detailed knowledge of Middle Eastern history and culture were necessary to negotiate treaties. In truth, Friedman realized, all parties played on that accepted wisdom to stall—expecting to get a better deal further down the road.
Tossing the State Department playbook aside and incorporating insights from his many years as a negotiator in the American private sector, Friedman and a small team with no prior diplomatic experience revamped American diplomacy to project “peace through strength.” He emphasized the importance of leverage, the key to any good negotiation. After painstaking, behind-the-scenes work, the Abraham Accords were a historic series of peace deals between Israel and the five Muslim nations.
In Sledgehammer, Friedman tells the true story of how the Abraham Accords came about. He takes us from the Oval Office to the highest echelons of power in the Middle East, putting us at the table during the intense negotiations that led to this historic breakthrough. The inside story of arguably the greatest achievement of the Trump Administration, Sledgehammer is an important, inspiring account of the hard, hopeful work necessary to bring long overdue—and lasting—peace to one of the most turbulent and tragic regions of the globe.
Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is insanity. For decades, the U.S. State Department called it diplomacy.
David Friedman was an outside candidate when President Trump appointed him U.S. ambassador to Israel. He took office to find U.S.-Israel policy stuck in stalemate. For years, accepted wisdom was that extensive experience and detailed knowledge of Middle Eastern history and culture were necessary to negotiate treaties. In truth, Friedman realized, all parties played on that accepted wisdom to stall—expecting to get a better deal further down the road.
Tossing the State Department playbook aside and incorporating insights from his many years as a negotiator in the American private sector, Friedman and a small team with no prior diplomatic experience revamped American diplomacy to project “peace through strength.” He emphasized the importance of leverage, the key to any good negotiation. After painstaking, behind-the-scenes work, the Abraham Accords were a historic series of peace deals between Israel and the five Muslim nations.
In Sledgehammer, Friedman tells the true story of how the Abraham Accords came about. He takes us from the Oval Office to the highest echelons of power in the Middle East, putting us at the table during the intense negotiations that led to this historic breakthrough. The inside story of arguably the greatest achievement of the Trump Administration, Sledgehammer is an important, inspiring account of the hard, hopeful work necessary to bring long overdue—and lasting—peace to one of the most turbulent and tragic regions of the globe.
263 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 8, 2022
About the author
David Friedman
2 books4 followersAmerican bankruptcy lawyer and the former United States Ambassador to Israel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
March 5, 2022
Sledgehammer is the story of how unlikely people can rise to the occasion and make history. David Friedman, an orthodox Jewish lawyer from New York became an unlikely ally of the world’s most flamboyant real estate mogul and, as an appointee to the ambassadorship of Israel with no prior political experience, managed to break with settled practice in the State Department, and engineered the move of the American embassy to Israel’s millennia-Old undivided capital where it should have been moved fifty years earlier and helped broker peace deals between Israel and five Muslim nations including Bahrain, UAE, Kosovo, Morroco, and Sudan. And, contrary to settled wisdom in the halls of Washington, these moves did not set the Mideast on fire and did not ignite World War 3. It is a story of how someone outside the foreign policy establishment can see things with clear eyes and get the impossible done. It is a well-written book, absorbing, and easy to read.
February 8, 2022
If ever there were an unlikely pairing, it’s David Friedman and Donald Trump. That bizarre relationship that began years before DJT’s run for office gave birth to one of the greatest feats of foreign policy in decades.
Friedman sets the stage on his years of service by sharing his own brief biography and passion about Israel. He goes on to delve into biblical history and it’s impact on both America, Israel and the Middle East. It’s here we come to understand the title for this book and much else.
Throughout the book, Friedman is humble, honest and emotional revealing his victories and challenges. Some of his legal dealings with Trump that lead him to be named ambassador to Israel are quite humorous, albeit brilliant, and serve him well while building the embassy. He’s also a master at human relationships which in the particular posting was invaluable. From inside the executive team he battled Tillerson and Maddox and situations with Sanders, Omar, Tlaib, Pelosi and others required Solomon like handling.
Like his boss, the media was a constant antagonist and falsely accused him, trying to thwart his efforts, going so far as to declare him in violation of the Hatch Act, (preventing members of the executive committee from committing pernicious political activity). Friedman prevailed and was nominated for a Nobel Prize.
About half the book is devoted to the Abraham Accord; untangling what exists, finding a path, negotiating a way thru and coordinating with the various players. At times, it reads like a finely crafted spy novel. Friedman and a cast of many accomplished this amazing peace project against all odds.
The book is written chronologically and is intensely personal. I had no doubt that David Friedman served as ambassador to Israel from a deep place of love and respect for both the Jewish people, Israel and the United States of America. His loyalty, honesty and faith are unwavering and this record of his service is a worthy read for one and all📚
Friedman sets the stage on his years of service by sharing his own brief biography and passion about Israel. He goes on to delve into biblical history and it’s impact on both America, Israel and the Middle East. It’s here we come to understand the title for this book and much else.
Throughout the book, Friedman is humble, honest and emotional revealing his victories and challenges. Some of his legal dealings with Trump that lead him to be named ambassador to Israel are quite humorous, albeit brilliant, and serve him well while building the embassy. He’s also a master at human relationships which in the particular posting was invaluable. From inside the executive team he battled Tillerson and Maddox and situations with Sanders, Omar, Tlaib, Pelosi and others required Solomon like handling.
Like his boss, the media was a constant antagonist and falsely accused him, trying to thwart his efforts, going so far as to declare him in violation of the Hatch Act, (preventing members of the executive committee from committing pernicious political activity). Friedman prevailed and was nominated for a Nobel Prize.
About half the book is devoted to the Abraham Accord; untangling what exists, finding a path, negotiating a way thru and coordinating with the various players. At times, it reads like a finely crafted spy novel. Friedman and a cast of many accomplished this amazing peace project against all odds.
The book is written chronologically and is intensely personal. I had no doubt that David Friedman served as ambassador to Israel from a deep place of love and respect for both the Jewish people, Israel and the United States of America. His loyalty, honesty and faith are unwavering and this record of his service is a worthy read for one and all📚
February 21, 2022
This was an awesome book. It was easy to read and thankfully, the author had the guts to take a deep dive into the many issues that exist within the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
I started reading about the history of Israel right after President Obama (with John Kerry as Secretary of State) failed to veto UN Resolution 2334 in December 2016 - because many Americans Jews were silent about such veto, when in fact they should have been screaming from the roof tops. UN 2334 held that settlements in Judaea & Samaria are illegal.
I am so grateful for David Friedman, with support from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and his efforts to reverse US policy that was established by President Obama.
Because of my detailed reading on the topic over the past several years, there wasn’t much “new” that I learned in the book about the history and my knowledge made reading this all the more rewarding. But there was one thing that I did learn. That is, the intended purpose of the Oslo Accords in the mind of Yitzhak Rabin, when he explained to the Knesset in 1993 where he thought the Oslo Accords would lead: the agreement, he predicted, would result in the creation of a Palestinian entity that would be less than a state, with Israel retaining a substantial part of Judaea & Samaria. Sadly, over the years, the Oslo Accords, as articulated by President Obama and others on the left, stood for a two state solution to the conflict - handing a veto to the Palestinians which they used to block every attempt at peace.
The Abraham Accords blew up the previous paradigm and created milestones for achieving peace. It also adopted the mindset of Yitzhak Rabin. Most importantly, it put a time clock on Palestinian actions, which if not obtained, would not serve as a road block or veto.
Statecraft is an amazing thing when done right. In one example, Friedman and his team used sovereignty as a carrot in order to obtain something of more value. This is where the issue of Israeli sovereignty over Judaea & Samaria was deferred in exchange for reaching normalization agreements with UAE, Bahrain and Oman. Brilliant. As a seasoned trial lawyer, David Friedman used his skills of nuance and negotiation masterfully.
In addition to The Abraham Accords, David Friedman accomplished the following in four short years: (1) US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, (2) moving the US embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, (3) US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, (4) merging the US consulate and embassy in Jerusalem, and (5) US recognition of US citizens born in Jerusalem as being born in Israel on their birth certificate.
I started reading about the history of Israel right after President Obama (with John Kerry as Secretary of State) failed to veto UN Resolution 2334 in December 2016 - because many Americans Jews were silent about such veto, when in fact they should have been screaming from the roof tops. UN 2334 held that settlements in Judaea & Samaria are illegal.
I am so grateful for David Friedman, with support from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and his efforts to reverse US policy that was established by President Obama.
Because of my detailed reading on the topic over the past several years, there wasn’t much “new” that I learned in the book about the history and my knowledge made reading this all the more rewarding. But there was one thing that I did learn. That is, the intended purpose of the Oslo Accords in the mind of Yitzhak Rabin, when he explained to the Knesset in 1993 where he thought the Oslo Accords would lead: the agreement, he predicted, would result in the creation of a Palestinian entity that would be less than a state, with Israel retaining a substantial part of Judaea & Samaria. Sadly, over the years, the Oslo Accords, as articulated by President Obama and others on the left, stood for a two state solution to the conflict - handing a veto to the Palestinians which they used to block every attempt at peace.
The Abraham Accords blew up the previous paradigm and created milestones for achieving peace. It also adopted the mindset of Yitzhak Rabin. Most importantly, it put a time clock on Palestinian actions, which if not obtained, would not serve as a road block or veto.
Statecraft is an amazing thing when done right. In one example, Friedman and his team used sovereignty as a carrot in order to obtain something of more value. This is where the issue of Israeli sovereignty over Judaea & Samaria was deferred in exchange for reaching normalization agreements with UAE, Bahrain and Oman. Brilliant. As a seasoned trial lawyer, David Friedman used his skills of nuance and negotiation masterfully.
In addition to The Abraham Accords, David Friedman accomplished the following in four short years: (1) US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, (2) moving the US embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, (3) US recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, (4) merging the US consulate and embassy in Jerusalem, and (5) US recognition of US citizens born in Jerusalem as being born in Israel on their birth certificate.
October 31, 2023
The autobiography of the guy who came up with the Abraham Accords, and actually tried something to get Middle East peace, instead of just going to cocktail parties.
When something isn't working for generations, it's time to try something new. Doesn't seem difficult to grasp.
When something isn't working for generations, it's time to try something new. Doesn't seem difficult to grasp.
February 8, 2022
One of the best books I’ve read
It represents the driving passion behind the bond and friendship between the two greatest nations on earth USA and Israel and their best moments in History during the Trump Presidency
The author is simply awesome
I recommend everyone to read it
It represents the driving passion behind the bond and friendship between the two greatest nations on earth USA and Israel and their best moments in History during the Trump Presidency
The author is simply awesome
I recommend everyone to read it
December 19, 2024
Embarrassingly simplistic memoir from Trump’s US Ambassador to Israel. I disagree with his goals and policies, but it’s his juvenile approach to complicated issues that is most shocking. He says his lack of experience is a perk but makes no arguments to support that. I’m certainly not convinced. The book itself is poorly written, too.
February 17, 2022
Peace with our neighbors
A most referencing viewpoint on the prospects for peace in the Mideast. I've always estimated the chances of peace at about 0%. Friedman shows by his effective work that political peace can be achieved when we start with the right framework, from a position of strength, not weakness. Of course, this isn't the peace that Isaiah predicts will come. This is only a political and economic peace, subject to the shifting winds in the epicenter of the world. Only the Messiah, Christ, can bring lasting peace.
A most referencing viewpoint on the prospects for peace in the Mideast. I've always estimated the chances of peace at about 0%. Friedman shows by his effective work that political peace can be achieved when we start with the right framework, from a position of strength, not weakness. Of course, this isn't the peace that Isaiah predicts will come. This is only a political and economic peace, subject to the shifting winds in the epicenter of the world. Only the Messiah, Christ, can bring lasting peace.
April 6, 2022
David Friedman is a mensch!
September 6, 2025
I don’t think I ever thought about what a U.S. Ambassador to another country did during their term, but I can honestly say that while reading this I was blown away by what David Friedman and others worked on and accomplished. I am a Christian and a strong advocate for Israel and everything Jewish. I was blessed to visit Israel in 2015 - before the Pilgrim Road was excavated in the City of David and before David’s term as Ambassador to Israel. The Jewish people have such a rich history that God led Moses to write about in the Pentateuch / Torah / Laws of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.) I pray that those alive today connect to or stay connected to their roots. I pray for peace to come to all after the horrific attack by Hamas on October 7. I pray nothing like this ever happens again. The Abraham Accords is an amazing piece of work by all involved. Abraham’s sons Ishmael and Isaac reunited again 3,800 years after Abraham died. I recommend this book to any and all who want to understand what the radical media does not tell us. I pray for the anti-semitism to stop once and for all. Remember that God will bless those who bless Israel and curse those who curse Israel. Bless you Israel!!! Thank you David Friedman for writing your accounting of your time in Israel.
February 28, 2022
Amazing book!
Read
February 8, 2022blessing and success
February 8, 2022
👌🏻👌🏻👍👍
February 8, 2022
Amazing book !!!
February 9, 2022
Couldn't put it down....
September 30, 2022
I enjoyed the book and I think the Abraham Accords were and still are a great step forward for peace.
My only problem with the book is that David Friedman is such a talented and persuasive Jewish/Isreal advocate, and I am so ignorant about the Palestinian issues, that I wondered if a little more of a balanced treatment of the opposing views would have been helpful.
My only problem with the book is that David Friedman is such a talented and persuasive Jewish/Isreal advocate, and I am so ignorant about the Palestinian issues, that I wondered if a little more of a balanced treatment of the opposing views would have been helpful.
September 27, 2026
I went into this book holding my nose, as the author is a conservative republican and friend of donald trump and the kushner family. But despite our unaligned worldviews, as the US Ambassador to Israel he was instrumental in relations between the two countries during trump's first term, including the controversial Abraham Accords and even more controversial move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He was also influential in setting US policy towards Iran and the rest of the Middle East. I therefore picked up the book in the hopes of getting a better understanding of what's currently going on in the more extreme second trump administration, with the odious figure of Huckabee taking over Friedman's role in Jerusalem.
I was actually somewhat impressed, although a lot of that is due to my low expectations. He writes clearly and competently, and presents his arguments like the lawyer he is. Even when I vehemently disagreed with what he was saying, he comes across as earnest, well-meaning, and sincere that he was doing the right thing. He also doesn't hold back from criticizing his political rivals (eg Secretary of State Rex Tillerson), and his descriptions as an outsider of the absurdities of traditional American diplomacy are entertaining. Of course this also underscores his complete unsuitability for the role, as being a real estate lawyer in no way qualifies someone for a high profile ambassadorship.
But I did come away with a better understanding of some of the decisions that were made, such as the exclusion of Palestinian participation or input into the trump "peace plan" and the Abraham Accords. And the decision to write off Gaza completely as long as hamas was in charge there, ditto for the PA as long as Abbas was in power. As the book only covers his time in office and was written prior to Oct 7, I'm curious as to whether he's changed his tune at all, or just doubled down and still thinks that ripping up the Iran deal in favor of the current messy war was the best approach.
Audiobook: pretty bad. It's as if they went out of their way to pick the whitest most goyische sounding man they could find. This is not how NY Jews talk! (There are lots of YouTube videos of Friedman speaking, it's not even that he has a strong accent, but he's clearly not from wherever the narrator is from) And to make it worse it's just an absolute horrorshow of mangling every Hebrew and Arabic word and name.
I was actually somewhat impressed, although a lot of that is due to my low expectations. He writes clearly and competently, and presents his arguments like the lawyer he is. Even when I vehemently disagreed with what he was saying, he comes across as earnest, well-meaning, and sincere that he was doing the right thing. He also doesn't hold back from criticizing his political rivals (eg Secretary of State Rex Tillerson), and his descriptions as an outsider of the absurdities of traditional American diplomacy are entertaining. Of course this also underscores his complete unsuitability for the role, as being a real estate lawyer in no way qualifies someone for a high profile ambassadorship.
But I did come away with a better understanding of some of the decisions that were made, such as the exclusion of Palestinian participation or input into the trump "peace plan" and the Abraham Accords. And the decision to write off Gaza completely as long as hamas was in charge there, ditto for the PA as long as Abbas was in power. As the book only covers his time in office and was written prior to Oct 7, I'm curious as to whether he's changed his tune at all, or just doubled down and still thinks that ripping up the Iran deal in favor of the current messy war was the best approach.
Audiobook: pretty bad. It's as if they went out of their way to pick the whitest most goyische sounding man they could find. This is not how NY Jews talk! (There are lots of YouTube videos of Friedman speaking, it's not even that he has a strong accent, but he's clearly not from wherever the narrator is from) And to make it worse it's just an absolute horrorshow of mangling every Hebrew and Arabic word and name.
July 21, 2025
This is one of the fastest reads and one of the best books I’ve read. It was recommended to me by the book I had just finished reading, When the Stones Speak by Doron Spielman. Both books imbue and demonstrate an intense pride in being Jewish, and supporting the State of Israel. This book skillfully and excitingly covers the run-up to the recognition of Jerusalem ss the capital of Israel, the move of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and the creation of the Abraham Accord.
The author, the former US ambassador to the state of Israel, very creatively decided to tackle soluble issues, such as creating relations between Israel and Muslim countries, rather than being defeated, as so many administrations in the past were, by the insoluble and probably impossible problem of satiating the “Palestinian leadership.”
Ultimately, and I’m not particularly religious, there is a divine role here. The Jews have survived for 2000 years, in much smaller numbers than the far mightier empires. Where, for example, are the Babylonian empire, the Roman Empire, the Assyrian Empire, and the Holy Roman Empire? Where are the pharaohs? And finally, where are the Hittites and Jebusites?
I do not want to spoil the book for others so I will say no more. This was truly one of the best books have read.
The author, the former US ambassador to the state of Israel, very creatively decided to tackle soluble issues, such as creating relations between Israel and Muslim countries, rather than being defeated, as so many administrations in the past were, by the insoluble and probably impossible problem of satiating the “Palestinian leadership.”
Ultimately, and I’m not particularly religious, there is a divine role here. The Jews have survived for 2000 years, in much smaller numbers than the far mightier empires. Where, for example, are the Babylonian empire, the Roman Empire, the Assyrian Empire, and the Holy Roman Empire? Where are the pharaohs? And finally, where are the Hittites and Jebusites?
I do not want to spoil the book for others so I will say no more. This was truly one of the best books have read.
May 18, 2023
A first-person account of the team that threw out the traditional thinking of the so-called experts and moved the Middle-East farther toward a lasting peace than anyone else. Period. Disagree if you want, but not even Sniffy Joe has been able to break down the Abraham Accords.
Friedman gives credit to everyone who had a hand in this, humbly realizing that he may have been the lead, but he could not have done this without his cast and the audience.
My only 'problem' is that he should have (in my opinion) provided a healthy reference section. While Sledgehammer is current events for us, five years from now the next group of high school Freshmen studying history need to be able to look up the various quotes and especially the lies and false information about the whole process.
Maybe the publisher will release an annotated edition by then.
Find it! Buy it! READ IT!
Friedman gives credit to everyone who had a hand in this, humbly realizing that he may have been the lead, but he could not have done this without his cast and the audience.
My only 'problem' is that he should have (in my opinion) provided a healthy reference section. While Sledgehammer is current events for us, five years from now the next group of high school Freshmen studying history need to be able to look up the various quotes and especially the lies and false information about the whole process.
Maybe the publisher will release an annotated edition by then.
Find it! Buy it! READ IT!
September 9, 2026
I couldn't finish this, zero diplomacy and mention of Palestinians, it's so full of simplistic hasbara. Anyone watching the news at this time knows the countries that joined are run by corrupt leaders. If it so successful why hasn't Saadia Arabia joined? Their constituents do not agree with normalizing with Israel, especially during a bloody cruel occupation and genocide where children and families are murdered every day during a "Ceasefire" in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon. There is no Peace in the Middle East. The Abraham Accords are Jared Kushner's Pet Project for his "Godfather" Netanyahu. It only benefits Greater Israel, just like this War/ not War in Iran paid for by my country and American lives. This book is embarrassing to serious people wanting peace in the Middle East. Read Edward Said instead. His work is timeless.
March 4, 2025
In essence, the author argues that there’s a tremendous benefit to be had to be an outsider going into an established fields: there are many preconceived notion for people within a field that they do nothing think can do away with, but in reality are just invisible mental blocks. The truth is that outsider will always have advantage over insiders given outsiders come in with a complete blank slate and no preconceived notions (the author was a bankruptcy lawyer turned a diplomat in this case).
The author’s personality really shine through in this book too (what a personality).
The author’s personality really shine through in this book too (what a personality).
March 1, 2022
Fantastic
This book reinforced everything I believed to be true about the way things really work in our government. It’s clear that the entrenched deep state does not work for We the People. David did a masterful job in his position and the world is better for it. I doubt anyone else would have succeeded in his quest. Thank you David.
This book reinforced everything I believed to be true about the way things really work in our government. It’s clear that the entrenched deep state does not work for We the People. David did a masterful job in his position and the world is better for it. I doubt anyone else would have succeeded in his quest. Thank you David.
March 6, 2022
A pretty easy read and an interesting one. It suffers from what many (if not most) auto-biographical books suffer, which is that you are getting one side of the story and even attempts to be humble can make the author seem self important. But - I largely agree with David Friedman when it comes to Israel and the Middle East, and I am so thankful for the role he played as ambassador.
February 28, 2022
This is a must read for anyone who wants a behind the scenes look at how the Abraham Accords came to be. I only hope David Friedman will continue to write more books. His style is engaging while being informative. This is not a dry retelling of recent history.
September 25, 2022
There are so many things about this book that I really liked!! The bottom line for me is that I agree with the author when he asserts that God prepared him and put him in place for the purpose of what was accomplished.
February 6, 2023
Passionate Forthrightnes
Mr Friedman conveys the zeal the bonds between "the nation of my birth, my home, and my citizenship, and the nation of my faith and my history."
Mr Friedman grips us as he enhanced the positions of the USA and Israel
Mr Friedman conveys the zeal the bonds between "the nation of my birth, my home, and my citizenship, and the nation of my faith and my history."
Mr Friedman grips us as he enhanced the positions of the USA and Israel
July 30, 2023
A fascinating eye into the most productive period US- Israeli -Arab relations in 80 years. Ambassador Friedman stepped up when asked by his nation, to serve…and serve he did! The book takes you into the thoughts and personalities during this timeframe.
David Friedman 2024!!!
David Friedman 2024!!!
July 28, 2024
Really interesting recent history of events from the perspective of a very successful US ambassador to Israel under the Trump administration. The writing is just okay, but that’s not the reason to read the book.
July 17, 2022
I loved it. Was so engaging and informative. You felt like you were part of the process. Excellent read
November 24, 2022
I learned a ton from this book about Trump era Israel policy, including the Abraham accords. Very interesting. Well written
December 15, 2022
Excellent, excellent, excellent!!!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews