(Most) Jews love Trump

For Israel, arguably the most consequential foreign policy achievement happened on October 25, 2009. At a wedding.

On that date, Jared Kushner married Ivanka Trump, who had earlier that year converted to Judaism. Of their union, the President of the United States would later tell Israel’s Knesset: “[Jared] truly loves Israel…In fact, he loves it so much that my daughter converted…I didn’t know this was going to happen.”

“At least, I think they’re happy. If they’re not, we have a big story, right? They have a great marriage, and they’re they get along great. They’re best friends. They have a very special relationship.”

No one will ever know for certain, of course, if the Jared-Ivanka union directly benefited Israel. But all the available evidence suggests that it did. The U.S. President is notorious for turning on allies and friends - cf. Chris Christie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mike Pence, Bill Barr, Nikki Haley, John Bolton, Anthony Scaramucci, Michael Cohen, John Kelly and on and on - oftentimes with a vengeance.

But on Israel, for the most part, Trump has been loyal. He has not abandoned the Jewish state.

Yes, there have been moments when Trump has been disrespectful towards Israel and its leadership. In June, for instance, Trump swore when Israel allegedly (but justifiably) hedged on a ceasefire, saying Israelis “don’t know what the fuck they’re doing.” Later, in October, Trump ordered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to make a grovelling phone call to Qatar’s own Prime Minister, to apologize for attempting to (again, justifiably) eliminate Hamas’ leaders then being sheltered by the oil-rich Arab state.

And, as renowned Holocaust school Deborah Lipstadt has detailed in her book Antisemitism, Trump has said things like Jews “want to control your own politicians” - and, elsewhere, has accused Jews of being “disloyal” to America, called them “fools,” and has said that if he lost the 2024 election, “the Jewish people would have a lot to do with the loss.”

Despite all that, Israelis love - and that is the correct word, love - Donald Trump.

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