Israelis are in a pickle.
Most of them love Donald Trump, but now that he has signed a ceasefire deal with their nemesis Iran that isolates their country, they’re in a state of cognitive dissonance.
How does one get angry at the only U.S. president who lived up to the promise of moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem? One presidential candidate after another promised it– Trump was the only one who delivered.
Time after time over his two terms in office, Trump has had Israel’s back.
It’s no wonder a recent poll from JPPI among Israelis notes “exceptionally high public trust in Trump,” with “73 percent of Israelis rating Trump as a better-than-average U.S. president for Israel’s interests.”
You can imagine, then, how Israelis must feel to see their beloved Trump make a deal with their genocidal archenemies in Iran—a deal many see as capitulating to an evil regime and endangering Israel’s security.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who for years has called Trump “Israel’s best friend in the White House,” is in a special pickle of his own. The signed agreement with Iran ends the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel has continued to carry out strikes.
How does Bibi end the attacks against the Iranian proxy Hezbollah if the terror group shows no inclination to reduce its own attacks? A key problem for Bibi is that Trump sees the Lebanon conflict as a sideshow that should not distract from the talks with Iran.
Speaking of talks with Iran, Israelis roll their eyes at the very idea. For the wily mullahs who will negotiate with the Americans, words are not instruments to build trust but weapons to gain an advantage. Israelis know from experience Iran can’t be trusted, no matter what it says or promises. That’s another way of saying Israelis believe their best friend Trump is getting duped.
But I would push back on that. Trump is not that easily duped.
Yes, he is impatient, impulsive and transactional. If he attacks, he likes quick, decisive action, like the 2020 assassination of Qasem Soleimani or the June 2025 bunker buster strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities as part of the Twelve-Day War.
I’m sure Trump never expected this latest war against Iran to drag out that long.
So, in his mind, he made the rational calculation that if the war continues and gas prices keep going up, he would risk losing both houses of Congress in the Fall midterms, which would sink his last two years in the White House.
Israelis may be angry, upset and disappointed with his decision, many may even feel betrayed, but they shouldn’t feel perplexed. Trump went as far as he could to support Bibi in the war against Iran, but when he saw political suicide looming, he cut his losses.
Bibi, of all people, should have a fine appreciation for the art of avoiding political suicide.
The fact that someone is my best friend doesn’t mean our interests will always align. Israel and America are close allies, but their interests will sometimes diverge. Sure, because this is Iran, it stings. It’s like seeing your best friend dating someone you hate.
Will Trump’s fling with the theocratic tyrants of Tehran last? Will he lose patience with their deceptive tactics? If his party wins in the midterms, will he feel free to “finish the job” and liberate the Iranian people to secure his legacy?
I’m no prophet.
I know that as my friend and I were walking through Jerusalem the other day, we walked past the U.S. embassy. It felt so long ago when Trump made the courageous move. It’s easy to forget the euphoria we all felt at the time. I try not to.
I also know that Trump has always had a weakness for power and for winners. That’s one reason he’s been so supportive of Israel for so long. He sees Israel as badass, a country no one should mess with.
Israel’s challenge over the next few weeks and months will be to keep that winning mystique without pissing off their “best friend ever” in the White House.
One pickle is bad enough.
