Why Trump Turned His Back on Israel
An opinion essay in World Small argues that Donald Trump’s recent shift away from Israel should not be seen only as a diplomatic setback, but also as a chance to reduce dependence on Washington and strengthen Israeli self-confidence. The writer says the move is especially striking because Trump had previously shown Israel unwavering support, and now is making life harder for Israel in the war against Iran and Hezbollah.
The article reaches back to David Ben-Gurion and Menachem Begin to show how earlier Israeli leaders faced American pressure. In 1955, after a wave of attacks from Gaza culminated in the Petah moshav bombing that killed one woman and wounded about 20 people, Ben-Gurion called for conquering Gaza, despite warnings from Prime Minister Moshe Sharett about military and economic sanctions and a wider war with Egypt or the Arab states. Ben-Gurion argued that Jewish blood could no longer be treated as “unclaimed” and insisted that Israel’s fate depended on Jewish resolve, not on the UN or foreign powers.
The essay also recalls Israel’s 1948 independence declaration, when the United States warned against it and blocked arms transfers, and Begin’s 1982 clash with then-senator Joe Biden, who threatened to cut aid during the First Lebanon War. Begin replied that he was “not a Jew with shaking knees,” but a proud Jew with “3,700 years of cultural history.” The article says Israel’s strike on Iraq’s nuclear reactor later brought a temporary U.S. weapons freeze, but the freeze ended after the election.
Using religious texts and the writings of Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, the author says hostility from other nations exposes false dependence, while efforts to please outsiders lead to contempt. He quotes Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent appeal to Jews of the diaspora to “rise up” and fight back, and cites U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee saying, “Without Israel, without the Jewish foundation, there will be no America.” The conclusion is that Israel should value alliance with the United States but reject becoming a client state, because the real lesson of the current rift is to build moral, military, and economic independence.
