On Thursday night, it was reported by Michael Wilner in the Jerusalem Post that Donald Trump
believes in a 'two-state solution' and that Israel should stop making announcements that destroy that possibility.
The White House warned Israel on Thursday to cease settlement
announcements that are “unilateral” and “undermining” of President
Donald Trump’s effort to forge Middle East peace, a senior
administration official told The Jerusalem Post.
For the
first time, the administration confirmed that Trump is committed to a
comprehensive two-state solution to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict
negotiated between the parties.
The official told the Post that the White House was not
consulted on Israel’s unprecedented announcement of 5,500 new settlement
housing units over the course of his first two weeks in office.
“As
President Trump has made clear, he is very interested in reaching a
deal that would end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is currently
exploring the best means of making progress toward that goal,” the
official said.
"With that in mind, we urge all parties to refrain from taking
unilateral actions that could undermine our ability to make progress,
including settlement announcements,” the official added. “The
administration needs to have the chance to fully consult with all
parties on the way forward.”
Trump plans to bring up the peace
process in his meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the
White House scheduled for February 15.
The JINO (Jewish In Name Only) Left was overjoyed. But that joy was apparently premature. Trump is apparently
as pro-Israel as he has always been.
Trump says, shut up and build. That sounds more like Trump who is
asking Israel to play smart and to move only when the table is in your
favor.
“Not helpful in promoting peace,” said his White House spokesman today – and where have we heard that before?
Never from Trump. So something’s gone wrong and I don’t think it’s entirely Trump’s fault, nor do I think here we go again. He’s Obama all over again.
That
won’t happen. But over the years some of us have noticed Israel’s habit
of going public each time it hires an architect. As for me, it’s been
an astonishment how Israel telegraphs every move, particularly when it
comes to housing in Judea and Samaria.
Who asked?
What other country does this? What other country stops the presses to announce -- Hello World, We’re Building More Homes.
Got a problem with that? – and in unison the world says yes.
That
IS the wisdom of Chelm if you expect any other outcome, and that has to
be the cause of Trump’s annoyance. Immediately Israel’s High Court gets
into the act along with the “peace groups” and Haaretz and The New York Times and a day later France invites 70 countries for a Paris summit to denounce the Jewish State.
That leaves Trump boxed in and he says so himself, that it cramps his style and his space to maneuver.
How
many times a day can he take on the entire world, as he’s been doing,
and now must carry Israel on his back – as he has it figured.
All
for no good reason except that Israeli leaders do not know when to keep
quiet. Instead they keep rubbing it in and keep asking for trouble.
The
trouble comes when they speak loudly and then expect the United States
to carry the big stick…like stopping the UN from another 2334.
Have
we forgotten that personally Trump owes us nothing? The overwhelming
majority of American Jews voted against him. He knows this.
The
same majority protests his partial travel restrictions, which means
that while he wants to keep anti-Semites out, we want them in.
Even
pockets of Israelis were shown on television protesting Trump’s
immigration pause. That hurt and it sure wasn’t “helpful” in terms of
friendship.
Now we hear that Trump favors a two-state
solution and where did he get that if not from Benjamin Netanyahu who
keeps promoting that dangerous nonsense.
We can’t ask Trump to be more Jewish than the Jews or more Israeli than the Israelis.
Our only claim on Trump is that we are family. The United States and Israel share the same values.
Only Israel can be counted on through thick or thin throughout the region and he needs Israel as much as Israel needs him.
Trump knows this. But he’s asking Israel to play by new rules, which is to shut up and deal only when the time is right.
Wise advice indeed.
Engelhard is right, and his card-game metaphor is dead-bang on target.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, Bibi and others must play to a political base.
Sometimes (perhaps often, in today's world) this-or-that base is far more interested in merely screaming in the opposition's face than in getting lasting results.
Hearing that Trump is solidly in favor of the deadly two-state is like a poison dart in my heart. Finally, for the first time ever, the Republican Party has a platform that makes no mention of support for the 2-state unrealistic garbage. I've been praying that Bibi & Trump would tell that corrupt snake Abdullah, that the game is OVER. No way will the "Palestinian" Arabs have a terrorist and failed State; right on top of Israel and within a few miles from the King's kleptocracy. Which Islamist's will take over tout suite!
ReplyDeleteEverything else in your post I agree with you on and many thanks for all your hard work on this excellent blog.
Look who Trump picked for his EU Ambassador! This man is magnificent! In an interview with the BBC: “He warned the EU that his boss, President Donald Trump, won’t take any ‘bull----‘ from Brussels.”
There’s a lot more – I already adore this guy.
http://www.wnd.com/2017/02/look-who-trump-picks-for-eu-ambassador/print/
The wisdom of Chelm? Well, at least the wisdom of zionists. The state was founded on the idea of Herzl that if only we are just like the other nations, maybe they will like us. It's why Israel didn't annex the land they captured in any of the wars. Har haBayis, Chevron, and announcing new housing. All stems from the same mentality.
ReplyDelete