President Trump and Israel During His Second Term

Trump Is Elected 47th President
Key Staff
 

Trump Is Elected 47th President

In a stunning comeback, Donald Trump convincingly defeated Vice President Kamala Harris to become the 47th President of the United States and only the second person ever to win a second consecutive term. His victory speech raised some Jewish eyebrows when he boasted about building “the biggest, the broadest, the most unified coalition...in all of American history.” He said it included “union, non-union, African American, Hispanic American, Asian American, Arab American, Muslim American.” Jews, who preferred Harris by more than two to one, were not mentioned.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was the first world leader to congratulate Trump. “Congratulations on history’s greatest comeback!” he said. Your historic return to the White House offers a new beginning for America and a powerful recommitment to the great alliance between Israel and America. This is a huge victory!”

Israelis overwhelmingly supported Trump, who many believed had been the most pro-Israel president in history, and were thrilled by his victory. Trump said very little during the campaign about his intentions for the second term; nevertheless, some Israelis expected him to give Israel carte blanche to pursue its interests. For example, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who was persona non grata in Washington during the Biden administration, said he believed Israel would now have an “important opportunity” to “apply Israeli sovereignty to the settlements in  Judea and Samaria.”

Arab Americans, who spurned Harris because her administration supported Israel, also had high hopes that a second Trump term would be more sympathetic toward the Palestinians than the first, which was marked by cuts in aid and a dismissal of their concerns. Bishara Bahbah, a Palestinian American who served as national chairman of Arab Americans for Trump, claimed the former president told him he recognized Palestinians need a state of their own and that he “100%” supports a two-state solution.

In his first conversation with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas since 2017, the Palestinian leader congratulated Trump on his victory. Trump reportedly told him he would work to end the war in Gaza. They had previously corresponded after the July 13, 2024, assassination attempt against Trump. Abbas had written to the former president, “Acts of violence must not have a place in a world of law and order,” and Trump responded, “Mahmoud, so nice. Thank you. Everything will be good.”

Key Staff

Some Israel supporters were concerned by Trump’s isolationist campaign and the lack of specificity with which he addressed foreign policy issues in general and those relating to the Middle East specifically. The key architect of his most popular decisions regarding Israel was his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who said he would not join the new administration but was still expected to be an informal adviser. The pro-Israel community was reassured when he chose two hawks with records of supporting Israel and criticizing Iran as his National Security Adviser (Rep. Mike Waltz) and Secretary of State (Marco Rubio).

A new voice in the president’s ear presenting a different perspective on Middle East policy is Lebanese Christian billionaire Massad Boulos, whose son is married to Trump’s daughter Tiffany. A naturalized U.S. citizen, Boulos played a role in convincing Arab Americans to vote for Trump, or at least not for Harris, and expected to play a part in negotiations for a ceasefire in Lebanon. 

Boulos said, “Trump’s policy in the Middle East is to achieve a lasting peace and to achieve this, it must be just and comprehensive, with the need for an economic plan to accompany any solution, because the economic recovery of the Palestinians is crucial to the sustainability of peace.” Boulos added the president-elect is “against wars and the killing of civilians in general, but when it comes to the Middle East, his policy is to achieve a lasting peace.”

According to Boulos, Trump was preparing “a new nuclear agreement with Iran that will be acceptable to the Iranians, neighboring countries, and the United States.”

Sources: “‘History’s greatest comeback!’ Netanyahu leads Israeli politicians’ congrats to Trump,” Times of Israel, (November 6, 2024).
Ron Kampeas, “Donald Trump thanked a ‘historic coalition’ for his election. He didn’t include Jews,” JTA, (November 6, 2024).
“Massad Boulos: The Lebanese billionaire behind Trump’s Arab-American votes,” TRT World, (November 7, 2024).
Barak Ravid, “Trump tells Palestinian president he wants to end Gaza war,” Axios, (November 8, 2024).
Rachel Fink, “Arab Americans for Trump Chairman Claims Two-state Promise From President-elect,” Haaretz, (November 10, 2024).
Sam Sokol, “Smotrich says Trump’s victory an opportunity to ‘apply sovereignty’ in the West Bank,” Times of Israel, (November 11, 2024).