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| Trump and Bibi (Euronews) |
This is how I can write both favorable and unfavorable articles about Presidents Obama and Biden, as well as favorable and unfavorable articles about President Trump. I see both good and bad in all of them. That being said, I obviously have very strong opinions, and those opinions usually land on one side of the issue.
This brings me to the recent invitation to the White House extended to Prime Minister Netanyahu by President Trump. It is to take place on February 4th. Prime Minister Netanyahu has accepted. He will be the first foreign head to visit to the White House. It seems that all the concerns expressed by many about a shift in the President’s attitude toward Israel this time around were unwarranted. Trump continues to demonstrate a very positive approach to Israel.
Some will be skeptical of this visit, insisting that Trump is inviting Netanyahu to read him the riot act if he doesn't fall in line with his peace initiatives. Thereby forcing Netanyahu to make a deal he does not want to make, believing it would harm Israel. Trump would then bully him into doing it, with 'hell to pay' if he doesn’t.
There may actually be some truth to that. But I feel sure that whatever deal Trump wants Bibi to make, he will not sell Israel out. My guess is that Trump wants to achieve peace by widening the Abraham Accords, and he is going to push Netanyahu in a direction that will make that happen.
Why do I feel so sure that Trump will not sell Israel out? All one has to do is look at who Trump chose for his primary foreign policy advisors, UN representative, and ambassador to Israel. As I’ve recently said, you can’t get more pro-Israel than they are.
Trump has also removed the Biden-imposed sanctions on settlers, spoken about the common enemies of Israel and the U.S., and even suggested that Palestinian refugees in Gaza be absorbed into Egypt and Jordan. At least temporarily, until Gaza is rebuilt, which could take years. Adding that if they wish, they could then take up permanent residence in those countries.
That they all rejected it is beside the point. The point is that Trump's suggestion sounds almost like something Ben Gvir would have said, showing a stronger preference for Israel's political right than for its political left or even center..
I can see why the left would argue that Trump's right-wing tilt (as indicated by those comments) is the very thing that will hurt Israel the most. They will be used as recruitment tools by jihadists to increase the number of terrorist attacks to unprecedented levels. They believe that, in the long run, there has to be a two-state solution, with Palestin e taking over the West Bank. (Which is a terrible idea by any measure for reasons beyond the scope of this post.)
I don’t know exactly what will take place at this meeting. Anything is possible with this president. But to say that Trump has shifted his views on Israel in any negative way is belied by all of the above. I predict that the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu will bear positive fruit. That’s why I’ve always said I support Trump’s policies, even though I otherwise believe he is totally unqualified for the job.
Not to mention that he is a vindictive and reprehensible human being, prone to taking revenge. As he did recently by removing the security details from people that are targets of our enemies. People that have the same politically conservative agenda he does. People that once served him faithfully. All because of the unflattering things they said about him during the election campaign. That's just plain sick.
