I’m Not Worried About Trump Undermining Israel. Are You?

No doubt Trump wants to avoid becoming enmeshed in a war overseas. He was horrified at the waste of men, weapons, and money in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. But a quick war, in which Israel, provided by the U.S. with 30,000-pound bunker buster bombs for use against the nuclear facilities deep underground at Natanz and deep inside a mountain at Fordow, a war that destroyed Iran’s ability to produce a nuclear weapon, is not something to which Trump would object. He has been warning about the need to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon since the first year of his first term. In fact, Trump might be willing to have the Americans join Israel in a swift aerial attack to hit all of nuclear facilities spread out across Iran. What Trump wants to avoid is American boots on the ground, and a long expensive war. Bombing of Iran that lasted at most a few days — no boots on the ground — is the kind of campaign he could tolerate.

“Trump Forced Israel to Surrender; Why Isn’t He Receiving the Blame?,” by Mitchell Bard, Algemeiner, January 24, 2025:

Showing loyalty to Trump paid immediate dividends on inauguration day, when Trump began dismantling the Biden legacy. Among the blizzard of executive orders and rescissions of Biden’s actions were the lifting of sanctions on Jewish settlers and reinstating restrictions on staff of the International Criminal Court.

Trump also ordered the suspension of US foreign assistance programs for 90 days while they are reviewed for alignment with his policy goals. That has been interpreted as a precursor to cutting aid to the Palestinians and UNRWA. The order does not apply to Israel, and, despite the isolationist slant of the administration and opposition to foreign assistance in general, Trump is not only expected to continue support for Israel but to end the embargo on the transfer of 2,000-pound bombs imposed by Biden.

Given all that, why is Bard so reluctant to give his full-throated praise to Trump?

Trump’s focus on Saudi-Israeli normalization is yet another example of his peacemaking ambitions. Though Biden laid the groundwork for these discussions, Trump is poised to take full credit for any breakthrough — a move that could greatly benefit Israel while burnishing his legacy.

I fail to understand why so much attention is being given to persuading Saudi Arabia to “normalize ties” with Israel. Why is this regarded as so desirable? What exactly does Israel get from such “normalization”? We already know the tremendous and dangerous concessions that Mohammed bin Salman wants Israel to make to achieve such an outcome. He won’t “normalize” relations until Israel agrees to that so-called “two-state solution” that would require Israel to agree to be squeezed back within the indefensible 1949 armistice lines, leaving it with a nine-mile-wide waist from Qalqilya to the sea. He wants Israel to give up its claim to Judea and Samaria, the very places where Jewish history was made. And in return, Israel attains this “normalization” whose benefits no one has yet been able to name. Besides, after the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, three-quarters of Israelis now say they are opposed to a “two-state solution.” Even if it means “no normalization of ties with Saudi Arabia”? That question has not been asked of the people of Israel, but I think their answer overwhelmingly would, at this point, be Yes.

Though his Jewish supporters refuse to admit it, Trump’s actions often harmed Israel in his first term — while also doing a great deal to legitimately earn their praise. The past week is proof that his second term will very likely lead to similar results for Israel.

I think Mitchell Bard comes down much too hard on Trump. What exactly did Trump do in his first term that “harmed” Israel? I can’t think of a thing.

And just look at what Trump did in the first week of his second term. His administration announced that the sanctions placed on “settlers” in Judea and Samaria by Biden would be lifted. He halted all foreign aid — including that for the Palestinians — with the exception of military aid for Israel and Egypt. He has agreed to send as many as 1,800 MK-84 bombs to the Jewish state in the coming days — reversing a Biden administration decision to withhold 2,000-pound bombs from Israel. When Netanyahu announced that the IDF would remain in southern Lebanon beyond the sixty days originally contemplated, because the Lebanese National Army was slow in pushing Hezbollah forces north of the Litani River, the Trump administration immediately endorsed the move. White House National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes described that ceasefire extension as “urgently needed.”

The offices that mean the most to the Jewish state have been filled by appointees who are uniformly pro-Israel: Marco Rubio as Secretary of State, Mike Waltz as National Security Advisor, Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, Elise Stefanik as America’s ambassador to the UN, Mike Huckabee as the American ambassador to Israel. Both Stefanik and Huckabee are firmly of the opinion that Israel has a right to annex Judea and Samaria. Perhaps Trump will disappoint, as Mitchell Bard fears. But so far, with the exception of his pressuring Netanyahu to accept the ceasefire with Hamas, he’s doing well. In fact, he is now talking about removing 1.5 million people from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan which, if it were to happen, would make Israel much safer. I’m not worried about Trump undermining Israel. Are you?