TRUMP’S IGNORING NETANYAHU SENDS A DANGEROUS MESSAGE TO ISRAEL’S ENEMIES - In International Relations there are no Permanent Alliances only Perceived Interests

Friday, May 16, 2025

By: Joseph Puder

Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, just learned a fundamental imperative in international relations, namely, that among nations there are no permanent friendships only perceived interests.

In recent weeks, President Trump, likely on the advice of his isolationist Vice President JD Vance, Tucker Carlson, and perhaps his son Don, Jr., has turned away from Israel in a series of moves.

The slights began with his undeserved praise of the Turkish dictator, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, made in front of Netanyahu, while visiting Trump in the White House.

Trump subsequently entered into negotiations with Iran, a deal that might leave Israel facing an existential threat from the Ayatollahs.

Netanyahu’s rivals in Israel’s political arena should not take comfort in what they perceive as the weakening of Netanyahu due to Trump’s appearance of intentionally ignoring of Netanyahu. They must understand that whatever supposed wrongs Trump is exhibiting towards Netanyahu, he would, undoubtedly, treat Lapid, Lieberman, Gantz, or Bennett worse. Therefore, they should express solidarity and support Netanyahu’s warnings about Iran, and his resolve to remove the Hamas terrorists from Gaza.

Trump removed Mike Waltz as his national security advisor apparently because of his agreement with Netanyahu that the military option must be used with Iran. Waltz and Netanyahu most likely agreed that the Iranians would drag the negotiations along and ultimately force an agreement that wouldn’t be much better than the Obama administration’s JCPOA/the July 2015 Nuclear Deal with Iran. Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steven Witkoff, has hinted that the Trump administration might allow Iran to enrich uranium to the 3.67 level, which is ordinarily non-threatening. Given, however, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s propensity for massive cheating on their nuclear progress, Trump’s eagerness for a deal might backfire, and make things in the Middle East much worse.

The deal with the Houthis, most likely concocted by Iran, in order to gain points with the Trump administration, was a deal that left Israel out in the cold. It left Israel alone to deal with the Iranian supplied missiles to the Yemeni Houthis. Trump praised the Houthis for their promise to end their firing on American and Western ships and allow for unmolested freedom of navigation along the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, including through the Bab El-Mandeb strait. Protection of Israeli ships were, however, excluded in this deal.  Netanyahu was certainly disappointed by Trump’s failure to inform him on the deal.  Trump’s praise of the Houthis was followed, 2 days later, by a targeted missile strike launched by this Iranian proxy at Israel’s International Ben Gurion Airport. Thankfully the missile landed on the airport’s perimeter. But where was Trump’s immediate condemnation?

The enemies of Israel in the Middle East are sure to be uplifted by what they perceive as Trump’s abandonment of Israel. And certainly, the unilateral deal with the Houthis gives them hope that this is the case.

A potential civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia, in the absence of Riyadh’s commitment to normalize relations with Israel, and extending an invitation for them to join the Abraham Accords, would be another sign that Trump is leaving Israel behind. Even the Biden administration conditioned a civil nuclear deal on Saudi Arabia on joining the Accords.

And, to secure over a trillion-dollar Saudi and Emirati investment in the US, Trump might pressure Israel to agree to a Palestinian state. This is the quid pro quo demand of the Saudis for joining the Abraham Accords. Israel cannot afford to have a Palestinian terrorist state close to its population centers, especially after the experience of October 7, 2023.  On that issue, of a Palestinian state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, there is wide consensus among the Zionist parties in Israel and the general public.

The heartwarming release of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, as a gesture to Trump by Hamas, while totally sidelining Israel in the process, was another indicator that Trump fails to understand the Arab mind. It was the Qataris, fellow radical Muslim Brotherhood members and Hamas’ sponsors, who convinced Hamas to come up with this “good will gesture” as a way to belittle Netanyahu and start direct contact between the Trump administration and the Hamas terrorists.  The murderous terrorists, together with Doha, hope to convince Trump to force Israel to end the war and withdraw the IDF forces from Gaza. They also seek the resumption of the humanitarian aid deliveries to Gaza, which sustains Hamas by controlling the food distribution.

All of the above is not meant to suggest that President Trump has turned anti-Israel or is abandoning the Jewish state. But America has its own interests to pursue. Clearly Trump would like history to credit him for being a peacemaker. However, with entities such Iran, the Houthis, Hamas, or Mohammad al Julani’s Hayat Al-Tahrir in Syria, there is no permanent peace, only hudnas - temporary cease-fires until the Islamic forces can prevail.

Trump gave Netanyahu a free hand in Gaza, which was not the case with the Biden administration. Trump is intrinsically pro-Israel, but he is also pro-business and considers himself to be a supreme dealmaker. He is not ideological and hence cannot fully grasp the dangers emanating from radical Islamists such as Turkey’s Erdogan, or the fact that the majority of Muslims in the West would like to impose Sharia laws to replace western constitutions.

Finally, even if Trump was considering new alliances and friends who are inimical to Israel’s security, he is constrained by the strong evangelical-Christian support for Israel, as well as Republicans in the House and Senate who will not support a bad deal with Iran, or the imposition of a Palestinian state on Israel.

It remains to be seen which forces prevail regarding Trump’s decisions, and his ultimate actions in the Middle East arena.

But making financial deals with the devil will not insure the long-term safety and security of the United States. As a one term president, Trump is up against dictatorial regimes that see history through the prism of centuries not terms of office.