Tens of thousands of people cheered at the mere mention of US President Donald Trump’s name at Saturday night’s rally at Hostage Square in Tel Aviv. Many in that same crowd then booed at the mention of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
There is a deep dissonance between how the Trump administration views Netanyahu and how the crowd at Hostage Square views him, booing every time US envoy Steve Witkoff mentioned his name, as if Netanyahu were Haman and this were Purim, not Sukkot.
So what will they do – or think – when Trump himself praises Netanyahu, which he almost certainly will, during his lightning visit to Israel on Monday morning and in his speech to the Knesset?
Will Trump’s praise of Netanyahu sway the prime minister’s detractors? Obviously not. But it will make for a fascinating moment: the man they cheered most loudly lauding the man they booed most ferociously – Trump’s applause colliding head-on with their contempt for Netanyahu.
Nice sentiment, though detached from reality. A crowd gathered for “unity” would not boo the mere mention of the prime minister’s name.
Where is the credit due?
The return of the hostages is a blessed event, and Trump deserves considerable credit for making it happen. Netanyahu, however, also had something to do with it. So to boo him?
Yes, the prime minister bears enormous responsibility for October 7. It happened on his watch. Hamas’s buildup and Gaza’s transformation into an armed fortress took place during his years in power. He owns the policy toward Hamas and Gaza before October 7.
But by the same token, his decisions and actions since that day are also responsible for Israel’s remarkable turnaround – standing firm against international pressure, devastating Hamas, decapitating Hezbollah (thereby leading to Bashar Assad’s fall in Syria), and significantly setting back Iran’s nuclear and ballistic capabilities.
Even Islamic Republic, a newspaper considered a mouthpiece of Tehran’s regime, admitted that the October 7 attack was a mistake that set back the regime’s “axis of resistance” against Israel.
This all happened because of the decisions made by Netanyahu and his government. Those same decisions created the conditions that led Hamas to agree to release the hostages and sign an agreement that effectively acknowledged defeat.
That the crowd in Hostage Square still booed Netanyahu shows that even with the hostages’ return, for many, nothing Netanyahu does warrants positive acknowledgment, let alone praise.
Same sentiment under a new name
And that means the anti-Netanyahu protests that have become a fixture of Israel’s political landscape will not end now. They will simply morph into something new and take place under a different banner.
To a large degree, these demonstrations are a continuation of the “Crime Minister” protests that began on Balfour Street in 2019, evolved into the anti-judicial-reform rallies in 2023, and over the last year merged with the hostage protests.
In recent months, it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish whether the weekly rallies at Hostage Square are more anti-government or pro-hostage.
The hostage deal will not clear the streets; it will only prompt the professional protesters among the demonstrators to change their slogan. Expect them to take up a new banner – the establishment of a State Commission of Inquiry into the events of October 7.
That inquiry is indeed long overdue, but make no mistake: even if this commission were set up tomorrow, the protests would continue in pursuit of another cause.
These protests will not end until Netanyahu is no longer prime minister. And even if, after the next elections, he somehow retains power – something that no longer seems as unthinkable as it did in those first months following October 7 – the protests will continue.
It was awkward, then, watching Witkoff’s speech on Saturday night. He was booed repeatedly while trying to praise Netanyahu and Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.
In the end, he managed to finish: “I was in the trenches with the prime minister,” he said. “Believe me, he was a very important part here.”
Witkoff went on to thank both men who have “sacrificed so much for this country and devoted their lives to the service of Israel… They have given everything – their time, their energy, and their hearts – to build a safer, stronger future for the Jewish people.”
He said this in Trump’s name. And Trump himself will likely echo those same words on Monday – and not for the last time.
The upcoming elections
With elections due by next October but more likely to be held in the spring or summer, expect to see Trump back in Israel before then or warmly welcoming Netanyahu in Washington again.
Trump can be expected to do what he can to help Netanyahu get re-elected, just as he did when he recognized Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights before the April 2019 election and unveiled his “Deal of the Century” ahead of the March 2020 vote – both timed to give Netanyahu a political boost.
Trump knows Netanyahu, works well with him, and shares his worldview.
From the praise he has heaped on Netanyahu in recent months – in an August interview, he called Netanyahu a “war hero” – it’s clear Trump prefers him as the man in Jerusalem he will be dealing with. Expect his support to be open and warm.
And that’s where the irony seeps in. Saturday night’s rally at Hostage Square showed that the anti-Bibi crowd loves Trump. But what will they do when Trump publicly praises the man they despise?
In the US, one reason for Israel’s declining support among Democrats – and it has indeed cratered – is precisely Trump’s embrace of the Jewish state. For many Americans, the political divide runs so deep that anything Trump supports must be suspect.
Trump likes Israel; therefore, many who once supported Israel no longer say that they do.
One might expect the dynamic in Israel to work in the opposite direction. Many Israelis – including some in the anti-Netanyahu camp – now adore Trump because of the hostage deal. So, by that same logic, if Trump likes Netanyahu, perhaps they will, too.
Don’t count on it. In Israel, that equation doesn’t hold. Support for Trump – especially now, in the wake of the hostage deal – won’t translate into renewed affection for Netanyahu.
But Trump’s expected praise of Netanyahu – both during his trip on Monday and in the run-up to the next elections, whenever they come – may weaken the opposition’s narrative: that Netanyahu’s leadership during the war was an unmitigated disaster, prolonged the war for political purposes, and achieved nothing of lasting value.
Because along comes Trump – and he will say otherwise.
The man they cheer most will end up defending the man they can’t stand, and that will show the degree to which anti-Netanyahu sentiment outweighs admiration for the man who brokered the hostages’ release.