There were many people in our community who celebrated Donald Trump’s return to the White House as if it were the coming of the Messiah. The adulation is misplaced. President Trump has done some good things for Israel and the community. We should give our political support to those who are responsive to our needs. But we should never put all of our trust in any politician. Recent events have shown that Trump supporters may well be disillusioned.
When I recently went on Facebook, I saw a picture of people with red caps emblazoned with the words “Trump is G-d.” Another post described Trump as “our Fascist in Chief.”
There are many legitimate reasons for opposing President Trump. But if he were truly a fascist, the people responsible for that post would be in prison. Americans should be thankful to live in a country where we are free to speak our minds.
I hope that no reader of this newspaper would violate the Second Commandment by believing that Trump is G-d. But there are some in our community who revere him as if he were the Messiah. Many of them would have howled with rage had Barack Obama or Joe Biden treated Israel in the way Trump has, since returning to the White House.
To his credit, Donald Trump has done many good things for Israel and the Jewish community. He moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and engineered the Abraham Accords. Since returning to the White House, he released weapons to Israel that had been embargoed by the Biden Administration and has acted against anti-Semitism on college campuses. Two of his key appointments—Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee—are proven friends of Israel.
Before returning to office, Trump threatened that there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages were not released. The result was a deal that saw the release of 33 live and five dead hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian terrorists, some of them with multiple murder convictions. Fifty-nine hostages, 24 of them alive, have been left to languish in Gaza. Steve Witkoff, Trump’s Middle East negotiator, pressured Israel to accept the agreement.
In a recent meeting with families of the hostages, Witkoff is reported to have said that he is working to bring the hostages home, but that Israel is the obstacle to reaching an agreement. Reuters has reported that the U.S. is negotiating directly with Hamas over a ceasefire and is opposed to Israel’s planned upcoming operation in Gaza.
Much was made of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu being the first foreign leader to visit the White House in the second Trump Administration. While Netanyahu proclaimed Trump “the best friend Israel has ever had in the White House,” Trump blindsided Israel by announcing that the United States has been conducting negotiations with Iran over a nuclear deal.
The Trump Administration’s point person in both the nuclear negotiations with Iran and the hostage ceasefire negotiations with Hamas is Steve Witkoff. Witkoff is a billionaire real estate investor who was a partner in the $660 million purchase of the Park Lane Hotel on Central Park West, with plans to demolish the hotel and build a luxury high-rise along “Billionaires’ Row.” The deal fell apart when Witkoff’s partner was indicted and the luxury real estate market took a downturn. Witkoff was bailed out by the government of Qatar, which purchased the Park Lane Hotel for $622.9 million. This is the same Qatar that hosts the leaders of Hamas, funds the Middle Eastern Studies programs on U.S. college campuses that teach their students “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” and incites anti-Semitism throughout the world through the Al Jazeera broadcast network. In interviews with Tucker Carlson and others, Witkoff has praised the Qataris and said he trusts them.
Vice President J.D. Vance has repeatedly stressed the slogan “America First.” The original America First Committee was formed to oppose American assistance to Great Britain against Nazi Germany during World War II. Its spokesperson was Charles Lindbergh, a Nazi sympathizer. Among its most prominent members was the notoriously anti-Semitic Henry Ford.
While Vice President Vance has expressed sympathy for Israel, he supports a foreign policy that would turn its back on American allies. He has said that it is not in America’s interest to go to war with Iran and that while Iran must not have nuclear weapons, it can have a civilian nuclear power program. Vance has said that the nuclear talks with Iran are “so far, so good,” and that there is a deal to be had that would reintegrate Iran into the global economy while preventing it from getting a nuclear weapon. Translated, this means that Iran will be allowed to have enough low-grade uranium which can be enriched to weapons level should they choose to violate the agreement, while receiving billions of dollars in sanctions relief which can be used to rearm Hamas and Hezbollah. The Iran nuclear deal, which Trump will undoubtedly proclaim one of the greatest ever made, is shaping up to be worse than the one Barack Obama negotiated in 2015.
Israel held back on attacking the Iranian nuclear sites in the hope that under President Trump there would be a joint U.S.–Israel operation. Once Trump entered negotiations with Iran behind Israel’s back, Israel’s best chance for destroying the Iranian nuclear program was lost.
Last week, a Houthi missile landed near Ben Gurion Airport. This caused more airlines to stop flying to Israel, dealing yet another blow to Israel’s important but ailing tourism industry. A few days later, President Trump—without giving Israel a heads-up—announced a deal under which the United States pledged not to attack the Houthis in exchange for the Houthis ending their attacks on shipping. The Houthis made clear that they intend to keep firing missiles at Israel. Under President Biden, the U.S. defended Israel against attacks from Iran and the Houthis. President Trump has effectively given the Houthis a green light to attack Israel.
Eight years ago, President Trump’s first foreign visit was to Saudi Arabia. The same trip included a visit to Israel with a stop at the Western Wall. Next week, President Trump will travel to the Middle East. While Israel has pointedly been left out of the itinerary, Trump will reportedly meet with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. There will no doubt be “spectacular” deals announced during the trip. Saudi Arabia has long sought a defense pact and civilian nuclear agreement with the United States. Previous administrations have always made Saudi recognition of Israel a condition for such an agreement. According to Reuters, the Trump Administration is prepared to drop recognition of Israel as a condition for an agreement. In the meantime, Trump’s sons are traveling through the Arabian Gulf making business deals. The Qataris are planning to present President Trump with a $400 million Boeing 747 airplane as a gift.
Time will tell how all of this plays out. Trump may yet turn out to be a friend of Israel. But in dealing with him, we would do well to take heed of the advice of Rabban Gamliel:
“Be exceedingly careful in dealing with the ruling authorities, for they only befriend a person for their own purposes. They appear to be friends when it is to their benefit, but they will not stand up for a person in his time of need.”
We should always work within the political system for the benefit of our community, but always guide ourselves by three words that appear on all American currency: In G-d We Trust.
