President Trump: The Most Pro-Israel President in History
By Anabella
The Republican Party has had a consistent record of supporting the State of Israel since its establishment in 1948. From this initial declaration of support until today, the relationship between Israel and the Republican Party has only grown and flourished considerably under the Trump administration. On numerous occasions, President Trump has not only expressed his support of Israel but backed up his words with action. During his tenure, Trump became the first sitting President to visit the Western Wall and officially acknowledge Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Though noble in their own right, these gestures are small parts of Trump’s broader goal of promoting and ensuring peace in the Middle East. In September, President Trump aided in developing “The Abraham Accords” between Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain, which are examples of unprecedented comity and compromise in the region. The strides taken to foster positive relations between these countries are so monumental that the President was formally nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.
To many Israelis, President Trump’s visit to the Western Wall in 2017 served as a beacon of hope that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Though Jerusalem was, in many ways, already considered the unofficial capital of Israel, the nation, unlike almost any other, did not have the sovereignty to declare the city its true capital. Since 1995, the Senate has vowed to move the embassy to Jerusalem and, in doing so, recognize the historic city as Israel’s capital. However, twenty-three years later, Donald Trump is the only President to actually fulfill the promise that faced so many of President Trump’s predecessors. Moving the embassy to Jerusalem in 2018 is a triumph that Israelis have looked forward to for decades. While past U.S. presidents have neglected to consider the importance of the issue, President Trump did not waiver in his commitment to the Israelis’ long overdue desire.
Though he faced severe scrutiny and backlash from the Arab world and the media, President Trump’s administration assured the world that the declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was a necessary step in advancing negotiations regarding the Israeli-Palestinian and the broader Arab-Israeli conflict. Though past presidents attempted to broker peace agreements in the Middle East and between Israelis and Palestinians, their efforts proved to be ultimately unsuccessful. These presidents relied on strict diplomacy and a narrow focus on the Israeli-Palestinian. Trump, on the other hand, has taken a more direct, thorough, and unwavering approach that Israel’s prime minister Netanyahu says, is “rooted in reality” and will not fail. President Trump has sought agreements between nations incentivized to make peace with Israel, which ultimately inclines others (similar) countries to do the same, ensuring a more permanent peace. Furthermore, these deals are aimed at economic and cultural integration, as well as political peace.
In September 2020, Trump announced that he’d brokered a peace deal known as the Abraham Accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. This peace deal will lead to the normalization of conditions and “ensure lasting peace” between the two nations, encouraging “[lasting] stability, security and prosperity” for both parties and the region. Under this treaty, each nation agreed to uphold mutual respect, promote a culture of coexistence, and establish and maintain diplomatic relations towards one another. The groundbreaking accords are also expected to help these nations financially integrate, with the opening of travel and trade between Israel and the UAE. From an economic standpoint, this treaty will have a tremendously positive impact on the players involved.
Another one of the key intentions of this deal is to encourage other nations to follow suit and eventually establish peace within the entire Middle East region. On this front, the deal proved successful as the Kingdom of Bahrain joined the accords shortly after. Trump expects that five or six other Middle Eastern nations will enter into peace agreements with the ultimate goal of prompting Saudi Arabia to join. While we’ve never seen so many countries making an effort to accept and respect Israel, several nations still do not recognize Israel as a sovereign nation. Trump’s dedication to this incredible and groundbreaking change is something that ought to be revered by people from all walks of life, and especially by American Jews who claim to love and be champions of Israel. Unfortunately, Trump’s success has been met with hostility and a general lack of acknowledgment, notably from many in the Jewish community.
As American Jews, we have a duty to keep Israel’s best interests at heart. The alliance between the United States and Israel has proven to be beneficial for both nations, politically, economically and militarily. Throughout these years, Israel has served as our doorway to the Middle East, providing us with intelligence, security, and countless innovations that not further American strategic interests, but protect everyday Americans. Furthermore, Israel is the only functioning democracy in the Middle East that upholds our nation’s values of equality and freedom for people of all religions, backgrounds, and even sexual identities and preferences. As an American Jew, I am grateful for the hard work that our President has put into establishing peace between Israel and its neighbors. He bravely stands as Israel’s ally, even in the face of rising antisemitism in the U.S. and the world, and the notable rise in antisemitism among prominent figures on the Left. Our President is sending a message to our Jewish communities that Israel is one of his top priorities, and the Democrats are his stark opposite. From the undenounced, rabidly antisemitic comments of Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, to the rocky relationship between Obama and Netanyahu, the Left has shown consistent apathy towards Israel and its people. Barack Obama’s approval of the Iran Nuclear Deal clearly put Israel at risk and financially empowered an Iranian regime hell-bent on Israel’s destruction. Just recently, 162 Democratic representatives voted against bill HR 2574, which would protect American Jews from antisemitism. The Democratic party has shown us time and time again that supporting Israel and our Jewish communities is not their priority
President Trump on the other hand, has done many things for American Jewry, aside from his unprecedented focus on Israel. Since 2013, anti-Israel and antisemitic movements have gained traction on college campuses, which have led to Jewish students facing an increased rate of hate crimes and discrimination. In 2019, Trump set out to combat growing antisemitism, signing an executive order that applies Title VI civil rights to Jewish students. Title VI “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and national origin in programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance.” Previously, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act had not applied to discrimination based on religion. Still, Trump extended it to Jewish students by expanding on what constitutes antisemitism and anti-zionism. The order seeks to protect Jewish students and allows federal funding to be withheld from colleges and universities that fail to protect these students from discrimination and enable antisemitism to occur on their campuses.
American Jews have much to be grateful for due to President Trump’s persistence in supporting Israel and combating antisemitism. It is shameful that his efforts are blatantly ignored and disregarded, or called “a distraction,” by our sitting Speaker of the House. As the most pro-Israel president we have ever had, he deserves our recognition and enthusiasm— especially from American Jews. Seeing the progress Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain have made with President Trump’s help is truly inspiring and moving. Under President Trump, we might finally see the beginning to the end of the violence that has ravaged the Middle East and an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has impacted countless lives. The last four years have shown us that Israel and American Jewry lies at the top of President Trump’s agenda. I’m excited to see what the next four will bring.
Photo via White House Flikr
