Yinon Magal Says Israel Needs to Back the Government Amid Trump’s Shift

In a commentary on Trump and Netanyahu, Yinon Magal said he saw the weekend filled with analyses of his post attacking Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and of claims that he was trying to avoid blaming Benjamin Netanyahu. He argued the opposite may be true, asking whether critics are doing everything possible to pin the situation on Netanyahu.

Magal said Trump had suddenly and illogically reversed course after Israel and the U.S. fought together against Iran. He noted that critics had previously portrayed Netanyahu’s biggest achievement as bringing Trump to Israel’s side, making him the first Israeli prime minister to do so in a joint strike against Iran, which he called Israel’s main enemy. He asked why, after saying Israel was a U.S. client state, those same critics were now searching for reasons to blame Netanyahu.

According to Magal, the current moment is complicated and requires people to support the government and Israel in a difficult time. He said he understands criticism if Netanyahu truly bore responsibility for a development, and recalled that he had already said Netanyahu bore responsibility for the events of October 7. But, he added, he does not understand what Netanyahu could have done differently in this case.

Magal also quoted Ben Caspit as saying Netanyahu had put all his eggs in one basket, then reminded him that he had spent the day praising the importance of bringing Trump on board. He concluded that Trump, for mainly economic reasons, had chosen to reverse himself and back what Magal called a “terrible arrangement,” and urged Israelis to stay strong for the country’s interests.