Foreign Policy - Israel

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)

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. "He also had some ground to make up with his audience: Earlier in the day, he had questioned Israel's commitment to peace in an interview with The Associated Press. Matthew Brooks, executive director of the Republican Jewish Coalition, raised the subject with Mr. Trump and questioned his commitment to Jerusalem as the undivided Israeli capital. Mr. Trump avoided answering the question, saying instead that he would be visiting Israel in the coming weeks and would meet there with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. ‘You know what I want to do? I want to wait till I meet with Bibi,’ he said, but a chorus of boos erupted from the audience. ‘Just relax, O.K.?’ he said. ‘You'll like me very much, believe me.’" (New York Times, December 3, 2015)

2016 Campaign Relations with Netanyahu

• 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)