Difference between revisions of "Foreign Policy - Israel"

Revision as of 20:55, 19 September 2019

Pre-Campaign Relationships with Israel

Donald Trump had relatively little political engagement with Israel before launching his 2016 presidential bid. However, he has often attended or participated in events that were meant to express support for or promote interest in the Israeli state.

• 1987: Trump attended a ceremony in New York commemorating the 40th anniversary of Israel's founding, where he notably shook hands with his New York City Mayor Ed Koch. “Mayor Koch shaking hands with Donald J. Trump during ceremony celebrating Israel's 40th anniversary. The two have been feuding publicly and the handshake occurred ‘at the appropriate moment -when it was the thing to do,’ said the Mayor. Both declined to repeat the act for photographers.” (New York Times, October 6, 1987)
• 1994: Donald Trump was given artwork by Israeli artist Yaacov Agam as part of a promotional campaign for Israel Bonds. “When the '94 Israel Bonds campaign kicks off Jan. 31 at Manalapan's Ritz-Carlton Hotel, noted Israeli artist Yaacov Agam will be among the guests, who also include Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres. On Saturday, Agam will present Donald Trump with artworks at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.” (Miami Herald, January 23, 1994)
• 1996: Donald Trump attended a luncheon featuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who promised the gathering of American businessmen “you’ll make money in Israel.” “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to capitalism's world capital Thursday to deliver a message that Israel's socialist ways are over. From the frenzied floor of the New York Stock Exchange to an elegant lunch with business leaders, Netanyahu said he will make Israel ‘one of the richest countries of the world.’ […] Under a gilded ceiling in America's most powerful corporate dining room, Netanyahu told powerful Wall Street financiers, including Donald Trump, that ‘you'll make money in Israel.’ […] Trump said Israelis ‘really want to do business.’ Asked if he would put one of his signature buildings in Israel, he joked, ‘Get me the site!’” (USA Today, July 12, 1996)
• 2004: Donald Trump served as the grand marshal for a “Salute to Israel” parade promoting tourism to Isreal. “Donald Trump will be grand marshal of the 40th annual Salute to Israel Parade, taking place May 23 on New York's Fifth Avenue from 57th Street to 79th Street, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Judy Kaufthal, the parade president announced today. ‘Israel has gone through a lot and it's my honor,’ Trump said. […] The 2004 parade theme, ‘Israel, I care and I'm going ... Let's go to Israel now!’ is intended to encourage tourism to Israel. For one day, 100,000 costumed marchers with colorful props will transform Fifth Avenue into a living pageant of beautiful and inviting Israel,as close to I million spectators cheer the 40 parade floats, 16 marching bands and dozens of entertainers.” (Real Estate Weekly, May 12, 2004)

Courting Jewish Conservatives with Anti-Semitic Tropes

• December, 2015: Trump spoke to a gathering of the Republican Jewish Coalition and praised them for various stereotypes of Jews, including possessing great negotiating skills. “For a few minutes this afternoon, Donald J. Trump played the beltway like it was the Borscht Belt. ‘Obama, oy-yoy-yoy,’ he said at a gathering of the Republican Jewish Coalition here, where he took his turn among the party's other presidential candidates in addressing a theater full of influential Jewish donors. He tried to establish a link with his audience, through family connections as well as some stereotypical Jewish traits, quickly earning critical coverage in an Israeli newspaper. […] He flattered the audience, at one point insisting that he would have achieved a better deal with Iran than President Obama did because ‘look, I'm a negotiator, like you folks.’ […]Once again, he alluded to his negotiating prowess, something he said he shared with the Jewish donors in the room. ‘With us, we have a deal instinct, a lot of us, you walk into a room and you can tell almost like in two seconds whether or not you're going to make a deal,’ he said.” (New York Times, December 3, 2015)
• Trump also told the Republican Jewish Coalition that his father had been a big supporter of Israel, complained about how hard it was to reach his daughter on Saturdays since her conversion to Orthodox Judaism, and told the crowd that “as businesspeople” they would appreciate how much money his campaign had saved on advertising. “‘My father, Fred, was always a big supporter’ of Israel, he said. And his daughter, Ivanka, converted to Judaism, he noted. ‘The only bad news is I can't get her on Saturday,’ he said. ‘I call and call. I can't speak to my daughter anymore on Saturday!’ He boasted that he was ahead in the polls though he had spent precious little money on campaign advertisements, adding: ‘I think you, as businesspeople, will feel pretty good about this, and respect it.’”
• Trump told the Republican Jewish Coalition that they would ultimately decide not to support his candidacy “because I don’t want your money.” “Mr. Trump's performance was not an unalloyed success. Perhaps sensing the room turning against him at one point, he abruptly asserted, ‘You're not going to support me, even though you know I'm the best thing that could ever happen to Israel. And I'll be that. And I know why that is: You're not going to support me because I don't want your money.’” (New York Times, December 3, 2015)

Negotiating Peace in the Middle East

• Trump told the Republican Jewish Coalition that he would negotiate peace in the Middle East in at least six months “and maybe sooner.” “He called the issue of Middle East peace ‘maybe the hardest deal ever in history to make,’ but said it would take him no longer than six months to bring Israel and the Palestinians together, ‘and maybe sooner.’ He said he didn't like to give away his strategy, but said he would make a fresh start. ‘I'd like to go with a clean slate and just say just, let's go, everybody's even, we love everybody and let's see if we can do something.’” (New York Times, December 3, 2015)
• Trump was unable to provide details for his plan to negotiate peace in the Middle East and was evasive in his answers on questions relating to it, demonstrating no clear familiarity with the subject matter. "Trump's speech to the RJC followed in that theme. Trump drew loud applause when criticizing Secretary of State John Kerry (‘the worst negotiator’) or the Obama administration in general (‘the worst thing that's happened to Israel’). But even a specific follow-up question about what Israel might need to give up at the negotiating table was met with a cannonade of non-answers. ‘It's perhaps the hardest deal in history to put together,’ said Trump, asked specifically if Israel should return to pre-1967 borders. ‘I don't know that Israel has the commitment to make it. I don't know that the other side has the commitment to make it. With that being said, I have a good chance.’" (Washington Post, December 3, 2015)

Moving US Embassy to Jersusalem

• December, 2015: Donald Trump was booed in an appearance before the Republican Jewish Coalition after saying he would refuse to take a position on moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem until after he'd gotten instructions from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. "Donald Trump drew a few rare boos toward the end of his appearance at Thursday's Republican Jewish Coalition candidate forum, after refusing to say that Jerusalem should be the undivided and recognized capital of Israel. ‘You know what I want to do? I want to wait until I meet with Bibi,’ said Trump. ‘You know, I'm leaving for Israel in a very short while.’ The rest of his answer, about a planned post-Christmas trip to Israel, was interrupted by scattered jeering. Trump turned to a heckler near the front of the Ronald Reagan Building's ballroom whom he could hear clearly. ‘Who's the wise guy?’ asked Trump. ‘Just relax. You'll like me very much, believe me.’" (Washington Post, December 3, 2015)

2016 Campaign Relations with Netanyahu

• December 3, 2015: Trump boasted that he would schedule a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the 2016 presidential campaign. “Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he plans to visit Israel soon to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ‘I love Israel’ Trump said, during a campaign rally at the Prince William County Fairground. ‘Israel is our great partner.’ Trump, who plans to meet with top Jewish Republicans in Washington on Thursday, sought at times to strike a more presidential tone before a standing-room-only crowd that alternately cheered for the billionaire developer and filmed him with their cellphones.” (Washington Post, December 3, 2015)
• Netanyahu confirmed that he intended to meet with Donald Trump while Trump was on a scheduled campaign visit to Israel. "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with Donald Trump when the Republican presidential front-runner arrives in Israel later this month, Israeli officials said Wednesday. The officials said the prime minister's Dec. 28 meeting with Trump was scheduled two weeks ago - before the billionaire developer called for banning all Muslims from entering the United States. […]An Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the prime minister's schedule, said Wednesday that Netanyahu ‘will meet with any candidate from any party who will be arriving in Israel and requests a meeting.’"
• Netanyahu declared that he would meet with Trump despite bigoted comments that Trump had made about Muslims which largely echoed similar comments Netanyahu had made during his own reelection campaign. "Netanyahu said late Wednesday that he would go ahead with the Trump meeting, although he tweeted that he ‘rejects Donald Trump's latest comments about Muslims.’ On the eve of his historic election to a fourth term as prime minister in March, Netanyahu rallied supporters by warning darkly that ‘the rule of the right is in danger’ because ‘Arab voters are coming out in droves to the polls’ and being ‘bused to the polling stations by left-wing NGOs.’" (Washington Post, December 10, 2015)
• Israeli Arabs, the Anti-Defamation League, and the newspaper Ha'aretz all called upon Netanyahu to refuse a meeting with Trump due to his bigoted remarks about Muslims and his call for a ban on entry to the United States that would affect all Muslims. "Arab Israeli lawmakers called on the government Wednesday to block Trump's visit to Israel. ‘He is not only a racist, but a danger to the free world,’ said Issawi Frej, a member of parliament. ‘He is a man who incites against 20 percent of Israel's population, a man who wants to fan the flames of hatred everywhere he visits.’ Jewish groups also widely condemned Trump's proposal to ban Muslims from entering the United States. The leader of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt, warned that such a ban would be ‘unacceptable and antithetical to American values.’ He said American Jews ‘know all too well what can happen when a particular religious group is singled out for stereotyping and scapegoating.’ The Israeli newspaper Haaretz noted that ‘as a matter of policy, Israeli officials do not meet with racist and radical politicians who are shunned by their local Jewish communities.’" (Washington Post, December 10, 2015)