‘we Don’t Need Trump To Recognize Golan’
The Golan Heights is a fertile region of cattle ranches, orchards and vineyards.
The area is also filled with bunkers, tanks and impromptu war memorials.
On its southwestern edge sits the Sea of Galilee, where Christians believe that Jesus performed miracles such as walking on water and feeding the multitude.
While the Golan Heights has been administered as part of Israel since 1981, the United Nations, European Union and all nations except the U.S. consider it Israel-occupied Syrian territory. That’s due to Trump, too. He drew international criticism when he signed a presidential proclamation acknowledging the validity of Israel’s claim over the strategic plateau, which supplies Israel with a third of its water, on March 25.
“This should have been done, I would say, numerous presidents ago. But for some reason they didn’t do it. I am very honored to have done it,” Trump said in the Oval Office at the time, as he stood alongside a beaming Netanyahu.
Netanyahu thanked Trump for his “incredible support” for Israel.
Still, in Bruchim-Kela Alon, where it remains far from clear whether “Trump Heights” will get off the ground, Chicago-born David Katz was deeply bothered by what he sees as many Israelis’ uncritical embrace of Trump because of his perceived pro-Israel stance.
Katz moved to Israel with his parents when he was three-years-old. He works as a horse trainer and cattle hand and lives with his wife and four daughters here.
The president had turned 73 a few days prior.
Four Years Of Painand Clarity
If one considers a pro-Israel position as a zero-sum stance, one that gives Israeli leaders what they want while causing great harm for the Palestinians, then it is hard to point to a more pro-Israel president in American history. Donald Trump not only granted the Israelis various items on their wish list, but he also inflicted pain on Palestinians in the cruelest fashion. It was not merely enough for Trump to make the Israelis happy he sought, in the process, to make Palestinians wince. Given the history of staunch US support for Israel, Trump seemingly aimed to distinguish himself clearly from his predecessors as a president who tried to go above and beyond the call of duty to put himself squarely on Israels side.
The two-state solution, the very goal of President Mahmoud Abbas and PA leaders, has never looked more unrealistic, in good part because of the steps Trump took to recognize Israeli claims and legitimize settlements, which the Israelis built and expanded aggressively during the Trump years.
Furthermore, some Palestinian leaders might think that a Joe Biden administration would bring back better days and reverse the impact of Trump. However, this is not a conclusion one can draw from objectively assessing the current reality. What a Biden administration can and might try to do on Israeli/Palestine will be the subject of a second piece to follow.
Few Leaders Were Closer To The Disgraced President Than Netanyahu Few Nations Consider Themselves To Have Benefited More From His Policies Were Already Seeing The Consequences
David Horovitz is the founding editor of The Times of Israel. He is the author of “Still Life with Bombers” and “A Little Too Close to God” , and co-author of “Shalom Friend: The Life and Legacy of Yitzhak Rabin” . He previously edited The Jerusalem Post and The Jerusalem Report .
Few if any national leaders were more closely allied with the disgraced US President Donald Trump, inciter of last weeks assault on the Capitol in Washington, on American democracy, than Benjamin Netanyahu.
Few if any nations would consider themselves to have been greater beneficiaries of Trump-backed policies than Israel, even though Israelis were deeply conflicted over the man now nearing the end of his White House term in such ignominy.
The implications of these two facts are already being felt, and will continue to resonate in the coming days, weeks, months and years. And not for the good.
Netanyahu nurtured his relationship with Trump so heavily financially backed by their mutual supporters, the Adelsons from the get-go, celebrating the anticipated volte-face from the administration of the loathed president Barack Obama.
As of last Wednesday, when Trump inflamed the assault on the US Capitol, and continued to indulge it even as the deadly consequences became clear, that complex reality became immensely more problematic. Israels White House ally is a figure of shame, and all who have celebrated associating with him are at risk of being stained.
Read Also: Trump Hotel Room Cost
President Trump Releases Statement On The Israel/palestine Conflict
President Trump has just called out Biden for the violence that is happening in Israel right now.
In Trumps statement he stated that his administration was known as the Peace Presidency because Israels enemies knew the United Sates stood strong with Israel.
Trump went on to say under Biden, the world is getting more violent and more unstable because Bidens weakness and lack of support for Israel is leading to new attacks on our allies.
He finished the statement by calling out Rep. Ilhan Omar who has been condemning Israel while they are under terrorist attacks.
Trending: 4-Time Pro Bowler & Super Bowl Champion Ex-NFL Wide Receiver Demaryius Thomas Passes Away at 33
NEW: President Trump releases a statement on the conflict between Israel and Gaza:
“Under Biden, the world is getting more violent and more unstable because Biden’s weakness and lack of support for Israel is leading to new attacks on our allies.”
Daily Caller May 11, 2021
BREAKING: Trump issues statement on Israel/Palestine Conflict:
Benny May 11, 2021
The New York Post stayed busy as always, check out what they had to say:
Rep. Ilhan Omar like other Democrats completely ignored the terrorist attack against Israel but instead pushed blame on Israel for defending themselves.
The Hill added to the story too:
Just one year ago we were hearing about peace deals being brokered in the Middle East and now all we hear about is violence.
Report: Trump Slammed Netanyahu For Congratulating Biden
An Israeli newspaper is reporting that former President Donald Trump earlier this year lashed out with profanity at Benjamin Netanyahu for congratulating President Joe Biden on his victory in the U.S. election
New Yorks Attorney General seeks Trump deposition
JERUSALEM — Former President Donald Trump earlier this year lashed out with profanity at Benjamin Netanyahu for congratulating President Joe Biden on his victory in the U.S. election, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday.
Trump accused the former Israeli leader of disloyalty, saying he had helped Netanyahu in his own elections by reversing decades of U.S. policy and supporting Israel’s claims to territory seized in war. Trump is still falsely claiming the U.S. election was stolen from him.
In interviews earlier this year with the Israeli journalist Barak Ravid, Trump expressed fury at a video Netanyahu circulated online in which he congratulated Biden.
Nobody did more for Bibi. And I liked Bibi. I still like Bibi, Trump said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname, in the remarks published by English language website of the Yediot Aharonot newspaper. But I also like loyalty… Bibi could have stayed quiet. He has made a terrible mistake.
Netanyahu had congratulated Biden more than 12 hours after the election was called and after most other world leaders. Netanyahu did not refer to him as president-elect in the tweet, and followed it up with a post praising Trump.
You May Like: Was Melania A Hooker
Recognized Jerusalem As The True Capital Of Israel And Quickly Moved The American Embassy In Israel To Jerusalem
The Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 legislated that Jerusalem should be recognized as Israels eternal capital and the embassys location should reflect that. And though every president elected since the act was passed has promised to bring it about, in December 2017, President Trump became the first to have the courage to do so.
Eagles Wings pastors meet U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman outside the U.S. Embassy.
His action was widely condemned by Democrats and other national leaders and earned him a negative vote in the United Nations as many warned that his action would lead to an apocalyptic war in the Middle East. Not only did the war fail to appear, but Trump has led the Middle East to unprecedented peace agreements.
Moving The Us Embassy To Jerusalem
In May, Trump followed through on his commitment to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The move was warmly praised by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and widely castigated by the Palestinians and much of the international community.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the new embassy amounted to a new settlement, as he refused to meet with any Trump officials, arguing that, by recognizing Jerusalem as Israels capital, they had forfeited their right to act as honest mediators in the conflict.
With this step, the US administration has cancelled its role in the peace process and has insulted the world, the Palestinian people and the Arab and the Islamic nation and it has created incitement and instability, said PA spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeineh at the time.
While the move suspended the US-Palestinian relationship, it was seen in Israel as the crown jewel of a close bond forged between Trump and Netanyahu. The limits of that bond, however, were later tested by Trumps decision to pull troops out of Syria , when the Israeli leader was accused of selling out Israels security interests.
The new embassy hasnt only shifted US-Israel ties, but has also affected Israels relationship with other countries. Israel has touted the embassy relocation as the first of many, with a minister even planning a diplomatic compound in the capital for foreign missions.
Don’t Miss: Does Trump Donate To Charity
Christian Churches Based In Jerusalem
On December 6, 2017, the primate of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, Patriarch Theophilos III, widely regarded as the most senior Christian figure in Jerusalem, and twelve other church leaders in the Holy Land sent a letter to Trump warning that his move âw yield increased hatred, conflict, violence and suffering in Jerusalem and the Holy Land, moving us farther from the goal of unity and deeper toward destructive divisionâ. Apart from Theophilos III, the letter was signed by heads of Jerusalem’s Syrian, Armenian, Ethiopioan and Coptic Orthodox patriarchates as well as the Roman Catholic Church’s Apostolic Administrator for Jerusalem . It was also signed by the Franciscan Order, the Greek-Melkite-Catholic patriarchate, the , the Episcopal Church, the Armenian Catholic and Syrian Catholic churches and the Evangelical Lutherans.
Brokered Historic Peace Agreements Between Israel And Arab
Making peace in the Middle East has long been a metaphor for an unachievable and amazing political achievement but Trump made this a reality by brokering the Abraham Accords. The agreements normalized relations between Israel and several of its Muslim Arab neighbors in the Gulf. Trump and his team achieved this by rejecting the conventional wisdom that the key to peace was an agreement with the Palestinians and the creation of a Palestinian political entity inside Israels borders, ethnically cleansed of Jews and with its capital in Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the UAE Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain attend the Abraham Accords Signing Ceremony at the White House in Washington, USA, September 15, 2020. Photo by Avi Ohayon/GPO
The agreements have caught on surprisingly fast since they were based on a mutual interest in controlling Iranian expansionism that was fueled by a catastrophically flawed Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action commonly referred to as the Iranian nuclear deal that was brokered by President Obama. President-elect Biden is already negotiating to re-enter the agreement that Trump was wise enough to pull out from.
You May Like: Trump Lies Fact Check
Progress Not Peace: Breaking Down The Trump
As dignitaries gathered on the White House South Lawn on Tuesday to witness the signing of U.S.-brokered deals between Israel and two Gulf Arab states, the situation thousands of miles away on Israel’s doorstep was less serene.
Some 15 rockets were launched from Gaza into southern Israel, the Israel Defense Force said, prompting the country’s air force to retaliate with a strike on targets in the Palestinian enclave.
The signing of the accords was greeted by angry protests by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Pictures of President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were trampled and flags set on fire. More protests were underway on Friday.
Speaking from a White House balcony, Trump declared the deals “the dawn of a new Middle East” and said at least five or six other Arab states were set to join the “Abraham Accords.”
But though Trump described the agreements as peace deals, the reaction from Palestinians was a stark reminder that the agreements are not seen as such by many in the region.
The pacts have been criticized by Iran, Turkey and Qatar. The biggest Gulf power, Saudi Arabia, has remained silent, leading to speculation that the kingdom quietly approves of the agreements but is reluctant to openly support them.
Palestinian Aid And The Plo Mission
The Trump administration cut off American support for the U.N. aid program for Palestinian refugees and other forms of support for residents of the Palestinian territories. Mr. Biden has pledged to resume sending millions of dollars in assistance.
A U.N. agency provides health care to more than three million Palestinians, as well as education assistance and other aid in April, the Biden administration said it would send $150 million to the agency, as well as put $85 million into direct aid to Palestinians.
But this could run into some legal hurdles. Congress passed the Taylor Force Act in 2018, restricting aid until the Palestinians agreed to certain conditions. The administration has said that it intends to comply with the legislation when doling out aid.
Mr. Biden is also working to reopen diplomatic channels with the Palestine Liberation Organization. In 2018, Mr. Trump closed down the P.L.O.s mission in Washington, a step that previous administrations had deliberately resisted taking, signaling that the possibility remained open for peace talks toward a two-state solution.
Mr. Biden has pledged to reopen the P.L.O. mission. But that plan could run into legal issues as well, thanks to another Trump-era move: In 2019, Mr. Bidens predecessor signed a law that, in countering a Supreme Court ruling, would leave the P.L.O. vulnerable to lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in damages for past shootings and bombings if it were to reopen a U.S. office.
Recommended Reading: How Much Does It Cost To Stay At Trump Hotel
