The Art of the Deal
“You know, Emmanuel, I can be tough with Bibi.”
So word is coming that President Trump is prepared to “pressure” Benjamin Netanyahu, if the Israeli leader doesn’t get onboard with the latest American peace plan for the Arab-Israeli conflict.
According to a report in the Jerusalem Post:
“Senior administration officials have said the president’s Middle East peace plan includes several significant provisions that will pose political challenges to the Israeli premier. And now Channel 10 is reporting that Trump has told France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, that he is prepared to get ‘tough’ with Netanyahu if necessary.”
Well.
At the UN last month, Trump followed the game plan of previous U.S. leaders, committing himself to the disastrous two-state solution. He intends to unveil “his plan” by the end of the year.
Now, look, none of us know what really goes on behind the scenes. It’s possible that Trump is just using this as a ruse, and is coordinating everything with Netanyahu.
But there is an important point to remember: the bestselling author of the Art of the Deal probably does not have a biblical worldview, especially when it comes to ancient land deeds and covenants. I doubt seriously he takes seriously the “title deed” nature of Israel from the Bible.
So it’s equally possible he means exactly what he is saying in public: a “peace plan” is forthcoming and by golly, people better get behind it. Trump reportedly has cited his moving of the embassy to Jerusalem as a sort of debt that Netanyahu owes him.
This wouldn’t surprise me.
Trump has said that Israel would have to “pay more” now that he has done some positive things for the Jewish state.
What this all tells us is that earthly governments are never the long-term solution. The best we can hope for in the short term is that an American president is not hostile to Israel—as Obama was.
Trump appears to be falling into the same trap past presidents have: they all have felt they could solve what is in reality unsolvable from a human perspective.
The West can “push” Israel all it wants. But in the end, only the Lord of History brings the best deal.