Misplaced Admiration for Trump

From the point of view of Israeli interests, flattering the outgoing president paid off, but it’s hard to understand how his substandard moral character could be ignored. The former Israeli consul general in New York, on the president who will be remembered as “tainted.”

On one of my visits home during the time that I was the Israeli consul general in New York, I shared with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu my fear and reservations about the Israeli policy of exaggerated praise and glorification of Donald Trump, which was very different from the ordinary gratitude directed toward a pro-Israel world leader. I reasoned, and thus told the prime minister, that the price that we would pay in the future for this policy, when the Democratic Party would return to power, would be too high. I felt uncomfortable and even embarrassed about some of the personal tributes to the American president which were already floating around, such as naming the future train station to be built next to the Temple Mount for Trump, or establishing a town called “Trump Heights” in the Golan.

But on a later trip to Israel, in which I once again met with the prime minister, I admitted that that even if it would have been better to avoid some of that excess, Israeli policy toward Trump had delivered valuable political dividends, much greater than I would have assumed.

The transfer of the embassy to Jerusalem, the recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, U.S. withdrawal from the Iran nuclear agreement, Mike Pompeo’s declaration on Jewish settlements in Yehuda and Shomron, the killing of Qassem Soleimani, the steadfast support of Israel in international forums, the Abraham Accords with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco — all these justified Israel's strategy in the end. We would deal with the price. The election of Joe Biden, the biggest fan of Israel among the potential Democratic candidates, minimizes Trump.

From a pure Israeli interest point of view, there is no doubt that Israeli devotion to and flattery of Trump paid off. Netanyahu, whose first meeting with Trump in the White House in February 2017 was not especially successful, regained his composure quickly, skillfully sized up the man in the Oval Office, and acted accordingly. He did not stint in his praise and appreciation of the president and refrained from criticizing him, even when it would have been appropriate to do so. And this policy bore fruit.

But in recent weeks and even more so in recent days, the prism through which Israeli-Trump relations will be judged has acquired some baggage. The 45th president's refusal to recognize his loss to Biden in the election, and even worse, his reckless speech on Jan. 6 and the violent invasion of the Capitol that came on its heels cast a heavy shadow that will define his presidency for many years. In the meantime, even if we don’t know if the second impeachment process against him will end in a conviction in the Senate, we do know this: Trump will be remembered in American history as a tainted president.

You can honestly say that Trump’s behavior since Nov. 3 is not surprising. In fact, the opposite is true. It is the natural continuation of his entire political career, and maybe even of his entire adult life. So, even if Israel’s policy toward him and toward his presidency was justified from the point of view of essential Israeli interests, the admiration of the Israeli public, which enveloped him while turning a blind eye to his substandard moral quality is hard to understand. It is one thing to show gratitude and satisfaction with his policies; it’s another thing to show enthusiasm for the man himself.

This is the reason that, when I was released from the bonds of being a diplomat in the service of the state of Israel and before the latest events, I pointed out that, like any Israeli, I hoped Trump would win, but if I were American, I would vote against him. Trump was a political miracle for the state of Israel, but at the same time, from the first moment he was a complete train wreck with much collateral damage for American democracy and for its political culture.

Regarding the political gains that were achieved in the last four years, as with any transition from one president to another, and especially when the governing party changes, some will be retested, some will stand the test of time, and some will not. But still, without being bombastic about it, it would be good to come up with a more appropriate name for the train station at the entrance to the Temple Mount.

Dani Dayan was the Israeli consul general in New York and is the director of the Yesha Council.