Only the naïve among us have ever believed that Donald Trump was personally committed to Israel and that his much heralded “deal of the century” would bring an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Skeptics saw through the charade and understood that his alleged commitment to Israel was primarily to get American evangelicals to vote for him. One was always left with the feeling that he didn’t care for Jews or the Jewish state.
Careful students of his statements and actions even discerned anti-Semitism. One wonders whether the resignation of Jason Greenblatt – Trump’s Middle East envoy – had something to do with that.
Netanyahu used Trump in the Israeli election campaigns in order to persuade us that the former leading Israel and the latter the United States meant that the Jewish state would prosper in safety. It’s not the only illusion or lie that we were fed. But we liked to hear it, so we didn’t demur much.
Trump’s decision to withdraw US forces from Syria has shaken even Netanyahu, because it means that Israel is left to face alone all its enemies in the region, particularly Iran. Hence his call for massive expenditure of Israel defense weapons against an Iran attack. He probably also agrees with unbiased experts that Trump’s decision to move out of Syria is calculated to enhance his chances of being re-elected for another term as president. And as soon as that happens next year, should it happen, and he no longer needs the evangelicals’ vote, he’ll give full vent to his anti-Semitism manifest in his indifference to Israel.
In addition to defense weapons, Israel now needs more than ever the loyal support of American Jewry. Netanyahu has done much damage to that relationship through his unseemly hobnobbing with Trump. Which, incidentally, is yet another reason why Israel needs a different prime minister.
This is being written on Erev Yom Kippur when we should really be concerned with more weighty matters than politics. But this is also the time when we are reminded not to put our trust in princes but to turn to God for protection.
גמר חתימה טובה
Republished from San Diego Jewish World