Trump is a friend, and will remain one
America believes somewhat naively that every problem is solvable if only the sides could sit down, with good will and honest intentions, at the negotiating table. It is in the country's DNA. It has never rejected an offer to mediate negotiations and give them a fair shot -- except for the American-British decision to shun talks with Nazi Germany.
From this perspective, President Donald Trump -- an outlier of a political figure if ever there was one -- coincides with his country's traditional worldview when he says it's possible "to cut a deal" on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is good and proper, but dangerous in one aspect: What happens when Trump, with his short fuse, arrives at the conclusion that one side or another has not, in fact, come to "seal a deal" truthfully? This is the working assumption with which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his advisers must welcome their guest from Washington next week.
The right-wing coalition was wrong to believe that immediately after stepping into the Oval Office Trump would recognize western Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and allow unfettered construction in the settlements. The delusions reached the point of expecting the imminent annexation of parts of Judea and Samaria. This is how politicians react when they do not grasp that even the most powerful man in the world is saddled with limitations.
The time has come to sober up from this diplomatic inebriation, and Trump is in no rush. His new ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, will not be able to move his office to Jerusalem in the coming months, and even his private housing will have to stay in Tel Aviv. The celebratory embrace the right-wing coalition gave Trump sparked a harsh reaction.
What has tainted Trump's long-awaited visit, before it even starts, is not any fundamental change in his position toward Israel. He was its friend, and there is no reason to think he will not remain such. However, the pressure from government ministers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked was too much too soon. They wanted to squeeze a statement and admission from him that negotiations with the Palestinians were pointless before ever beginning, certainly before they were even given a chance to fail.
Leaps of this magnitude are unheard of in the history of American policy, and Trump has no reason to skip over something that can assist his relationship with Arab countries. The correct diplomatic rule of thumb in this case can be summed up in one sentence: "Let the man do his job." After all, everyone knows that "haste is of the devil."
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו