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But, of course, no one understood how important it is to hold out for Trump better than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
By MARTIN OLINER DECEMBER 26, 2024 02:56
US PRESIDENT-ELECT Donald Trump and secretary of state-designate Marco Rubio attend a campaign event before last month’s presidential election. ‘Israeli officials have told me privately that they cannot wait for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to be replaced by Marco Rubio,’ says the writer.
(photo credit: Jonathan Drake/Reuters)
If an alien arrived in the United States of America and asked to be taken to its leader, there is no doubt it would be taken to US President-elect Donald Trump and not outgoing President Joe Biden.
Even though Trump has not yet taken office, he is already doing much more than the man still on the job to make the world a safer place.
While Biden has taken care of his family by pardoning his son, Hunter, Trump has been taking care of the world: meeting with top international figures, planning policies, and holding press conferences in which he knows what to say and what not to say.
Trump’s vow that there would be “hell to pay” in the Middle East if the hostages held in the Gaza Strip are not released by his January 20 inauguration finally gave hope to their loved ones.
Most importantly, he has repeatedly left open the possibility never seriously considered by Biden to attack Iran and prevent the Islamic Republic from obtaining nuclear weapons that would endanger the entire world.
“Anything can happen,” he told Time magazine in his Man of the Year interview. “It’s a very volatile situation.”
That volatile situation requires American deterrence. The mere presence of Trump on the way to the White House has already compelled countries worldwide, from Canada to Qatar, to reassess their policies and change their direction.
While both Biden and Trump have correctly given Israel’s defeat of Hezbollah credit for the downfall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad’s brutal regime, there is no doubt that the rebels were also emboldened by the knowledge that America was back on a path toward rewarding its allies and punishing its enemies.
Even the feckless Palestinian Authority has finally taken steps to restore order and crack down on Hamas and other rebel groups in Jenin and other cities. The PA knows it will be held to a higher standard by Trump and that it better get on his good side before he comes back to power.
Israeli officials holding out for Trump's second term?
But, of course, no one understood how important it is to hold out for Trump better than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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As The Jerusalem Post’s military analyst Yonah Jeremy Bob pointed out, when Netanyahu’s National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi said on May 29 that the war would need to continue another seven months, people did not understand what he meant. But now it is clear that Israel planned for a Trump victory all along.
That hope has already borne fruit, with the appointments of pro-Israel, clear-thinking nominees to the key cabinet posts where decisions impacting Israel will be made for the next four years.
Israeli officials have told me privately that they cannot wait for Secretary of State Antony Blinken to be replaced by Marco Rubio.
With less than a month in office, Blinken is still making a fool of himself by talking seriously about the need to negotiate with the Iranian regime that he should be taking action to remove from power. He will be remembered as a shorter version of John Kerry, with no accomplishments but much damage.
By contrast, Rubio recently called Hamas “animals” and made clear that they are “100% to blame” for everyone killed in Israel and in Gaza during this war. The moment he takes over, there will be maximum pressure on Hamas to surrender.
The arms embargoes of the Biden administration will be replaced by a Trump administration that will supply Israel with bunker-busting bombs and whatever else is needed to deter the enemies of the Jewish state. Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has said, “If you love America, you should love Israel.” He will back that up by providing Israel’s military requirements at this crucial time.
The Biden administration’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, told CNN on Sunday that he has briefed Trump’s advisers that Iran could decide to develop nuclear weapons if it is too weak. He warned the Trump team to be careful not to harm Iran too much.
“It’s no wonder that there are voices [in Iran] saying, ‘Hey, maybe we need to go for a nuclear weapon right now,’” Sullivan said after recounting recent setbacks to Iran and its proxies.
Thankfully, Sullivan’s successor, Congressman Mike Waltz, does not appear to be listening to that nonsense. In an interview with Ben Shapiro, he warned Iran that he would be watching the Islamic Republic’s every move very closely. He said Iran must stop provoking Israel and developing nuclear weapons.
Regarding Iran’s proxies, Waltz did not mince words. He said he would reverse Biden’s 2021 decision to remove the Houthis’ designation as a foreign terrorist organization and take immediate action against Hamas.
“There have never been enough consequences,” Waltz told Shapiro. “And that’s what we need to be talking about with these people. You take an American; you illegally detain them; if you’re a nation-state or if you’re a terrorist… there is gonna be all hell to pay. There are gonna be nothing but consequences for you financially and maybe even a bullet in your damn forehead if you take an American, period.”
Biden has not bothered to send his Middle East envoy Brett McGurk to the region lately, but his successor, businessman Steve Witkoff, has already come and pressured the leaders of Qatar to do more to bring about the release of the hostages.
Why didn’t Biden appoint a special presidential envoy for hostage affairs? Trump has already done that in the well-respected Adam Boehler, whose appointment “gives us renewed hope,” Ruby Chen, father of hostage and American citizen Itay Chen, wrote in The Hill.
The majority leader in the Senate will thankfully no longer be Sen. Chuck Schumer, who has single-handedly prevented the passage of the much-needed Antisemitism Awareness Act, a piece of bipartisan legislation that passed the House by a 320-91 vote in May. His successor, Sen. John Thune, promised to sanction the International Criminal Court for pursuing warrants against Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant.
Last but not least, I am excited about the appointment of my friend Mike Huckabee as the ambassador to Israel. Once he takes over, gone are the days of American envoys pressuring Israel to stop building in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria.
“There is no such thing as a West Bank,” the former governor of Arkansas said during a visit to Israel in January 2017, adding: “There’s no such thing as a settlement – they are communities, they’re neighborhoods, they’re cities. There’s no such thing as an occupation.”
The incoming Trump administration is not alien to the need to strengthen Israel in order to ensure a brighter future for America. If this is what it has already done before taking office, the sky is the limit for the next four years.
The writer is the chairman of the Religious Zionists of America, president of the Culture for Peace Institute, and a committee member of the Jewish Agency. He currently serves as a member of the US Holocaust Memorial Council, appointed by Donald Trump during the president-elect’s first term. The views expressed here are his own. You can reach him at Martinoliner@gmail.com.
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