The Trump plan was designed to appeal not to historic supporters but to the basic American political bases of both men – Evangelical Christians and right-wing, largely Orthodox, Jews.
By DOUGLAS BLOOMFIELDU.S. President Donald Trump winks at Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they discuss a Middle East peace plan proposal during a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., January 28, 2020(photo credit: REUTERS/BRENDAN MCDERMID)
That was no “vision” for Mideast peace that President Donald Trump unveiled at the White House last week in front of some of his most ardent Jewish supporters and donors. The event had the trappings of a Trump rally, and the 181-page “Deal of the Century” was more like a campaign document and fundraising appeal for a pair of corrupt politicians looking for a diversion from their legal problems.It is not a path for peace but a dangerous roadblock, if you listen closely to its author, first son-in-law Jared Kushner. What it calls promises are really poison pills.In addition to dashing Palestinian hopes for statehood, the plan further strains American-Jewish ties to Israel and the bipartisan foundation of Israel’s support in the United States.It will be a long time before either is repaired if Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have anything to say about it.Kushner, speaking with Fareed Zakaria on CNN Sunday, said that before Palestinians can have a state of their own, they must ensure a free press, free elections, guarantees of religious freedom, an independent judiciary and Western-quality financial institutions. Moreover, his plan emphasizes the new Palestinians state must recognize Israel as “the nation-state of the Jewish people.”Wait, there’s more. Who decides if they’ve met these criteria and qualify for statehood? The American and Israeli governments. That means Israel would have a veto.If Palestinians can’t meet those conditions to Israel’s satisfaction, Kushner said, Israel should not take “the risk to recognize them as a state.”You may wonder how Trump can set such stringent demands for Palestinian democracy when he asks that of no Arab country, especially ones where he has business interests, and since he has so little respect for democracy at home and such admiration for autocrats around the world.The plan was drafted by two branches of the Likud, Kushner’s in the White House and the other in Netanyahu’s office.One of the achievements of the Trump-Netanyahu partnership has been to drive American Jews and Israel farther apart.Netanyahu has tied himself so closely to Trump and the religious Right in both countries that he has alienated the large majority of American Jews who built the foundation of bipartisan support that has been Israel’s great strength for so many years.The Trump plan was designed to appeal not to historic supporters but to the basic American political bases of both men – Evangelical Christians and right-wing, largely Orthodox, Jews.Both groups are far out of step with the vast majority of American Jews on most domestic and foreign policy issues, including Mideast peace. Four years ago Jews voted 71% Democratic; after two years of Trump it went close to 80%, according to the Pew Research Center.Most Jews here support the two-state approach. They fear the Trump approach can lead to either a binational state or an apartheid and non-democratic Jewish state.NETANYAHU BEAMED next to Trump in the East Room unveiling, but he was privately disappointed in some favors he wanted in order to boost his reelection next month. The plan envisions Palestinian statehood, which he has vowed would never happen on his watch, and while it opened the way to annexing the Jordan Valley and West Bank settlements, Kushner unexpectedly put on the brakes, telling him to wait until after the March 2 vote and formation of a new government.The embattled prime minister had planned to rush home right after the White House ceremony to get the annexation vote, which would please settler voters. But first he had a campaign stop in Moscow to collect an endorsement and a favor from Vladimir Putin, who paroled an Israeli tourist harshly imprisoned for a minor marijuana charge so he could bring her home as another prize achievement.The rejectionist Right in Israel and America were upset that annexation wouldn’t be immediate and the Trump plan, however remotely, could open the way to Palestinian statehood. They needn’t worry. It was a classic case of the old politician’s defense, “That may be what I said but it’s not what I meant.” The plan may have said statehood, but under Kushner’s terms it said just the opposite.A statement by more than two dozen former officials of both Republican and Democratic administrations called the Trump plan “a recipe for perpetual conflict” and a potential “fatal blow to the two-state outcome.”That could change if Trump is defeated in November. Former US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro has said that any of the leading Democratic contenders will want to return to what he called “a more traditional US policy that calls for strong support for Israel’s security and legitimacy alongside a vigorous commitment to achieving a two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who boycotted the drafting process in reaction to Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, denounced the “Deal of the Century” with “a thousand nos” and announced he was cutting security ties with Israel.That may turn out to be an empty threat since the Israeli security forces also protect him against his mortal enemies, Iran’s proxies like Hamas, which covet the West Bank. Instead he may just fly to New York and kvetch to the United Nations.Trump’s “Deal of the Century” is not a realistic proposal, but Abbas shouldn’t dismiss the message it brings: You can’t get everything handed to you. The other Arabs have more important things to worry about than you. Wake up and get real. Table a realistic plan for serious negotiations. Challenge Israel. You can’t do it on the battlefield so try the negotiating table.But the incompetence of the Palestinian leadership doesn’t alter the fact that the Trump plan is a cynical, self-serving maneuver that can only harm Israel’s long-term interests and further undercut the American Jewish community’s willingness to use its considerable political capital to protect the Jewish state’s interests.
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