Trump’s ire against Israel
US President Donald Trump expressed his strong displeasure with Israel for bombing Iran immediately in the wake of his announcement that both countries had agreed on a ceasefire. He did so in remarks to the media as he was about to embark on a trip to the Hague on June 24 to participate in the NATO summit. Trump said “I’m not happy with Israel. You know, when I say, ‘OK now you have 12 hours,’ you don’t go out to the first hour, just drop everything you have on, so I’m not happy with them”. In order to provide some balance between Israel and Iran he added “I’m not happy with Iran either.”
However, his ire against Israel was much greater for he posted on Truth Social during his flight to the Hague ““ISRAEL. DO NOT DROP THOSE BOMBS. IF YOU DO IT IS A MAJOR VIOLATION. BRING YOUR PILOTS HOME, NOW”! It has been reported that the Israelis informed him that they could not abort the mission entirely but they took his admonition seriously because instead of bombing central Tehran they only took out a radar site on its out skirts.
This Trump-Israeli exchange encapsulates, in many ways, the relationship between the US and the Jewish state. The latter has, since its founding, taken enormous liberties with successive US administrations. Israeli conduct has driven US presidents to frustration and anger and sometimes, as illustrated by Trump’s words, to the use of harsh language. In such cases Israel retreats and begins to respect US imposed redlines. On its part US administrations rather quickly forget Israeli transgressions and reiterate their categorical support for the country. This has been and, continues to be, a fundamental and unchanging position of US foreign policy.
Why is it that the US has always shown so much indulgence to Israel? Why has it made it the main anchor of its West Asian and North African policy?
Antisemitism runs deep in Caucasian Christian communities. The Jewish people were horribly discriminated against in Europe through the centuries. Indeed in the 19th century they were subjected to organised violence in Eastern and Central Europe. This was a major contributory factor which led to Zionism and a desire to establish a Jewish homeland in Palestine. Many Jews also immigrated to the US where they made a mark in business, finance, academia and the media. However, they were not accepted as equals by the established US political and social classes. After the Second World War the extent of the elimination of the Jews by the Nazis in concentration camps sent shock waves through Europe and the US. The Jewish people call this carnage in which six million of them were killed as the Holocaust. The US became a special proponent for the establishment of an Independent Jewish state in Palestine, along with a Palestinian Arab state. The support for Israel which began then has never wavered. Trump has been especially vocal in expressing it. He has sought to pressure individuals and institutions who have been critical of Israeli attacks on the Gaza people after Hamas’s terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. He called their conduct antisemitic.
After the establishment of Israel its leaders realised that they would be overwhelmed by their Arab neighbours unless they had strong and abiding US support. To ensure that this would be so, US based Jewish groups decided to become politically active and created a lobby. This became so powerful that virtually no one in the political class, few in the academia or the media ever crossed it. Certainly, no US administration did so even if its patience was sorely tested by Israeli policies and actions. There is another reason for US always being on Israel’s side.
The US feels an affinity to Israel because it is the only ‘western’ like country in the midst of the Arab states. US considers it a democracy like itself and considers that there is a bond of values and interests which cement their relationship. It is the only country, therefore, the US feels that it can rely on. The Arab states, on their part, initially did not accept the creation of Israel and not only did not recognise it but became committed to its destruction. That period has long passed. What is now agreed almost by the entire international community that there should be a two state solution: Israel and a Palestinian entity living peacefully side by side. Formally, the US also is committed to such a solution but has, through the decades, allowed Israel to build settlements on occupied territories. That has made a two state solution extremely difficult. The US and the West has also permitted Israel—which is not a signatory to the NPT to build nuclear weapons clandestinely.
The one Islamic state which is implacably opposed to Israel’s very existence is Iran. Ironically, under the Shah, Iran and Israel had fairly good ties but that changed once Ayatollah Khomeini came to power in 1979. Iran has also supported militias such as Hamas and the Hizbollah and for the past few years the Houthis to use violence and keep Israel under pressure. These factors have led Israel, and the US and its allies and indeed the Sunni states and other major powers to tacitly agree that Iran should not have nuclear weapons. The methods that the other major powers wish to adopt to deny Iran nuclear weapons may vary but the objective is the same.
Thus, while Trump may have temper tantrums against the current Israeli leadership he knows that he cannot cross the redline of supporting it. On its part Israeli leaders know that they have to back off when a US President cracks a whip even if he cannot hit Israel with it!
