"I love Israel, I'm with you all the way," President Donald Trump concluded his historic Knesset address. That statement was and remains absolutely accurate even during days and hours when Trump's embrace occasionally becomes a bear hug.
The US president is in no way harming Israel. From his perspective, he sometimes saves it from itself. This occurred when he demanded halting the Israeli Air Force planes that were already over Iranian territory at the end of Operation Rising Lion; when he told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the Gaza war had run its course and pressured him to adopt the plan to end it; and when he demanded reversing Netanyahu's decision on cutting aid supplies to the Gaza Strip two days ago.
As of now, it appears that in all three instances he was correct, and indeed a responsible adult was needed to prevent us from acting against our own interests. Because indeed the war against Iran should have concluded on day 12, and it was correct to adopt the 20-point plan. Regarding eliminating Hamas in Gaza – the IDF was given two years to accomplish this, and particularly in the Rafah area the damage to the organization was the most severe. Nevertheless, Hamas fighters emerged from the tunnels there. In other words, before we make the ceasefire collapse we must formulate an orderly plan for how to achieve the war objectives that have not yet been reached.
In the grand scheme of things, Trump was and remains the most pro-Israel president ever, by a tremendous margin from all his predecessors. Therefore, even if here and there he makes things difficult for us, the matters must be put in their proper prespective.
We must also remember that he is not the first. All US presidents from time immemorial have demanded that Israel stop, restrain or reduce various military moves that we needed. Moreover, compared to his predecessors Trump has even expected Israel to be significantly more aggressive than it was. This happened with the famous sentence "the gates of hell will open on Gaza." And of course, in his first ten months in office, that same Trump opened the warehouses and gave the IDF all possible armaments.
So even if he is mistaken, it is permitted and proper to respect his request. And let us tell the truth – apparently there is also no other choice. Against the Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, Netanyahu could fight because he received tailwind from their Republican rivals. On the other hand, when the MAGA president gives us a red card, we have no counterweight to hold onto. The reason for this is the severe damage to Israel's image in the US.
Our legitimacy oxygen has run out. In the situation that has been created, Israel and Netanyahu have no room for maneuver because we have been pushed into an PR corner. Extricating ourselves from it is therefore an urgent and critical mission. Because if we have a problem with Trump, how much more so will there be one with his successors, certainly if they come from the Democratic side but even if they arrive from the Republican camp.
Large and enormous forces from both left and right wings in the American discourse are working to weaken the alliance between the US and Israel. Unfortunately, they are playing against an empty goal.
From the prime minister down – everyone understands that a campaign for the gloal public opinion is required from Israel and the Jewish people. After all, our enemies in the world will only go and intensify their incitement against us, which will exacerbate the international legitimacy problem and further narrow the political room for maneuver. This, and not Trump's local "Don't," should therefore be Israel's central concern. If we do not open a campaign for consciousness now, in three years we will miss Trump's hugs.
