After Zelensky, could Netanyahu be next?

Any supporter of Israel should consider that the proper response to Ukrainian President Zelensky’s disastrous meeting in the Oval Office lies somewhere between deep concern and terror. After all, if we are to draw analogies between the Russia/Ukraine conflict and the Israeli war against the many arms of the Iranian octopus, who do we resemble? Ukraine has been battling the aggression of a much larger, autocratic state that denies its historical connection to the land and seeks to conquer it and erase its existence as an independent state. It has survived against all odds, thanks to its grit and determination, as well as to the massive support of the Western world that sees it as a bulwark of freedom and democracy that must be defended. It’s quite clear that we align with the Ukrainians, while the Putin-backed Iranian axis aligns with Russia.

So when President Trump adopts the Russian narrative, ignores their aggression, and abandons an alliance based on shared values for the cold consideration of “investments” and “cards” in order to pressure Zelensky into an agreement that violates his national interests, it should raise serious red flags for the future of the US-Israel relationship. How much can we rely on little Israel remaining a “good investment” in the eyes of an America-first administration aligned with Russia and interested in fruitful economic relationships with Saudi Arabia and other Moslem states?

This question needs to be weighed all the more seriously as Israel has begun to engage in military maneuvers against Hamas – stopping humanitarian aid and promising to “open the gates of hell” – which will only be supported by the Americans and will almost certainly draw condemnation from the rest of the world.

If Iran, backed by Putin, decides to attack Israel after a few months of operations that have made us an international pariah, will the Trump administration have our back? Or will we witness a meeting at least as humiliating as that of Zelensky between Netanyahu and Trump, in which an Israel fighting for its life is told that giving in to Iran’s demands is the path of diplomacy and peace? Will we see Netanyahu berated that if he doesn’t accept the Russian/Iranian terms, he will be responsible for World War III and the blood of his citizens?  Will we soon come to understand that to rely on Trump is akin to relying on a “splintered reed of a staff, which enters and punctures the palm of anyone who leans on it” (Isaiah 36:6)?