Is it enough that Trump is pro-Israel? (Daled Amos)

By Daled Amos

According to the Trump Campaign, on Election Day, Jews are supposed to vote for Donald Trump because he is the candidate who is pro-Israel. 

And they can prove it!

All you have to do is look at Trump's record in office:

o  Moving the US embassy to Jerusalem

o  Recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel

o  Recognizing the West Bank settlements are not inconsistent with international law

o  Closing the PLO mission

o  Recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan

o  Giving US citizens born in Jerusalem the option of listing Israel as their place of birth

o  Recognizing products from Israeli-controlled West Bank labeled as products of Israel

Based on such a clear record, after only one term in office, it would be difficult to see Trump as anything other than a friend and supporter of Israel.

But does this really demonstrate that Trump is really a supporter of Israel?
Is this record really a basis for expecting a second Trump presidential term to be similar to the first?

Go read Sledgehammer, by David Friedman, the ambassador to Israel during the Trump administration. Assuming that the book is accurate--and there is no reason not to--many of the pro-Israel actions taken by the Trump administration were taken at the initiative of Ambassador Friedman. The measures were proposed and pushed by Friedman himself--with the full support of Trump, who trusted Friedman's judgment.

Ambassador David Friedman (YouTube screencap)

In addition to having the trust and support of the president, Friedman went head-to-head with HR McMaster, National Security Advisor, and Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State. Early on, in response to a Palestinian claim that they were ready for peace and it was Netanyahu who was standing in the way, the ambassador suggested to Netanyahu that he make a short two-minute video of key parts of speeches that Abbas had made, It would include snippets where Abbas honored terrorists, praised violence, and vowed to accept nothing less than Israel's total defeat. When McMaster and Tillerson found out about the video, they were furious. They considered the video a cheap theatrical trick and insisted such things had to be approved by them first. Friedman responded:

Look guys, I work for the president, nobody else. He had been given bad information. Frankly, I'm surprised you didn't know about it. I am going to make sure that he is well informed so that he gets Israel policy right. And I will keep doing that as long as I have this job and been after I don't. (p. 76)

The ambassador clearly saw himself as more than just a messenger to the president, carrying messages back and forth between the US and foreign officials. He saw himself as another presidential advisor. Just as he had previously offered Trump legal advice before his taking office, he was going to give him advice about Israel policy.

As a thought experiment, consider what would have happened if Mike Huckabee had become the US ambassador to Israel. He was, in fact, considered for the position. Would Huckabee have been as knowledgeable about Israel? Would he have been as pro-Israel? Would he have been as proactive and forceful for moving the US embassy to Jerusalem? Even with a pro-Israel president like Trump, can we assume that the same achievements would have been accomplished?

By the same token, would Friedman have been as successful under a different president? Consider an Ambassador Friedman serving under Biden, who talked a lot about the unshakeable bond with Israel and being dedicated to the defense of Israel--until Israel was attacked and forced to go to war, where being only on the defensive is not enough. And would Biden have been as receptive to moving the US embassy to Jerusalem?

The point is that the successful pro-Israel policy of the Trump administration was made possible by both the ambassador's energetic initiatives and Trump's receptiveness.

However, Trump is not saying who he would appoint as ambassador to Israel, should he be re-elected. Similarly, Friedman, who has supported Trump, is not saying if he would be interested in serving as ambassador to Israel.

There is no way to know what the Israeli policy during a second Trump term will look like, without the same basic set of advisors repeating their roles.

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