The American Jewish community should be up in arms over President Trump’s declaration that Israel now has to pay a “high price” because it’s the Palestinians’ “turn” to “get something very good,” following the relocation of the US embassy to Jerusalem earlier this year.
Trump’s disturbing remark, made in a speech in West Virginia on Tuesday, followed several previous hints along the same lines. In a tweet on January 2, 2018, he wrote: “We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table, but Israel, for that, would have had to pay more.”
Similarly, Trump told reporters in Davos on January 25: "I helped it because by taking it off the table—that was the toughest issue—and Israel will pay for that. You won one point and you'll give up some points later on in negotiations if it ever takes place.”
But President Trump’s latest statement is the most troubling articulation of the president’s mindset regarding Israel and the Palestinian Authority. He now has made it clear that he does not really grasp the nature of the Palestinian war against Israel, and does not understand that the Palestinian leadership is irrevocably committed to terrorism and hatred.
Instead, Mr. Trump views the entire Israeli-Palestinian situation as a matter for horse-trading. Israel “got” something in the embassy move, so now it’s the Palestinians’ “turn” to get something. Not because the Palestinians made some concession. Not because their behavior demonstrates they are moderate and peaceful and trustworthy. No, simply because it’s all a matter of “taking turns.” (Read More)
