User talk:The Kingfisher/sandbox/Trump-Jews-Israel

The relationship between Donald Trump, Jews, and Israel

The 2016 Trump presidential campaign
In December 2015, then-presidential nominee Donald Trump announced that he would travel to Israel. Subsequently, 37 Knesset members, from different parties, signed a letter asking Prime Minister Netanyahu to condemn the visit over Trump's call to ban Muslims entering the U.S.

In September 2016, Trump told Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that if he is elected President of the United States, he would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, making him the first U.S. president to do so.

During a speech to AIPAC, Trump said, “When I become president, the days of treating Israel like a second-class citizen will end on day one.”

In reference to the GOP’s efforts to get votes from US citizens living in Israel, Politico wrote, “In some ways, the Trump organizing efforts are more extensive in the West Bank than in West Palm Beach…”

A poll in Israel found that 70 percent of Jewish Israelis be in four Israeli Jews would vote for Trump.

The Trump presidency
Following Trump being elected president, Netanyahu called Trump “a true friend” of Israel”, however, he instructed his legislators and ministers that diplomacy with Israel should be through “...accepted and quiet channels, and not via interviews and statements”.

The Washington Post published a story with the headline, “Trump was great for Netanyahu. Biden will be better for Israel”.

After speaking with Jewish members of Congress, The Washington Post reported that Trump “muttered that Jews ‘are only in it for themselves’ and 'stick together’ in an ethnic allegiance that exceeds other loyalties”.

In December 2020, near the end of his presidency, Trump announced the fourth Arab-Israeli normalization agreement in four months, when Israel and Morocco agreed to normalize relations.

In September 2020, Time ran a headline, "President Trump Deserves Credit for Israel's New Status in the Middle East".

In December 2019, Trump was criticized for using anti-Semitic tropes during an Israeli-American conference.

On May 14, 2018, the U.S. Embassy in Israel was officially moved to Jerusalem. Trump said, "For many years, [the U.S.] failed to acknowledge the obvious ... the plain reality that Israel's capital is Jerusalem".

In June 2017, Pew Research Center released a survey that showed that regard for Trump, the U.S., and its policies, drastically went down except in two countries: Russian and Israel.

In August 2020, following Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib being banned from entering Israel, Trump was questioned about Omar's comments that the U.S. should cut off aid to Israel, Trump said, "I can't even believe that we're having this conversation. Five years ago, the concept of even talking about this...cutting off aid to Israel because of two people that hate Israel and hate Jewish people". Trump further said, "Where has the Democratic Party gone? Where have they gone where they're defending these two people over the state of Israel? And I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat — I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty, alright?"

The 2020 Trump presidential campaign
In August 2019, Trump said to reporters, “Where has the Democratic Party gone? Where have they gone where they're defending these two people over the state of Israel? And I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat — I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty, alright?"

Trump in Israel
In May 2017, Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem. At the time of the visit, the Trump administration was unclear if the Western Wall is part of Israel because the U.S. viewed the territory as being illegally occupied by Israel. In the same trip, Trump toured Church of the Holy Sepulchre and Yad Vashem Holocaust museum, where he left a note that read: "It is a great honor to be here with all of my friends-so amazing and will Never Forget!".

Trump's Israel legacy
There is a planned Israeli settlement in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Trump Heights, named after and in honor of Trump.

In November 2020, Michael Freund of The Jerusalem Post wrote, "For anyone who values the US-Israel relationship, supports the Jewish state and cherishes it, there is no denying that the Trump team has done more than any previous administration ever did to bolster Israel and its future".