Airforce Wonder: Trying to Understand the Deal for Edan Alexander

There may be no bigger red flag for Jews than when we all agree on something. Whether it’s a brisket or a good physical therapist, it doesn’t happen too often. Okay, it almost never happens, especially when it comes to politics. So it must be pretty telling when it does.

Right now, we’re all ecstatic over the release of hostage Edan Alexander. But for many, that excitement has been tempered by the manner and terms of his release. Let’s just say it, it’s icky at best.

I wasn’t in the room to know what really went down between Trump, Witkoff and the Qataris, and there’s always more than meets the eye. But the optics matter as much as the facts, and the optics are not good.

Ordinarily when Israel negotiates a hostage release, we know the price to get back one of our own. Sure, it’s always way too high, but at least we know what it is. We know the exact number of prisoners we’re giving up and how many we’re getting in return.

That doesn’t seem to be the case here.

Trump didn’t just go to the region to get a hostage deal done with Qatar. He also met with the Saudis and the UAE. I get it. Once you’re there, you might as well see all the sights. Normalized relations with the Saudis has always been a major incentive for Israel to make peace with the Palestinians, so Trump having also met with players with indirect involvement in the war is understandable.

Although, all those countries want the same thing, military power. More power than their equally determined Arab neighbors, and as soon as they can acquire it, nuclear capabilities.

America has the technology they want, highlighted by the F-15EX Eagle II, our newest and most advanced fighter jet. And we all know what Trump wants, and that’s whatever he can get in return, be it for his own prestige or own pocket, and usually both.

As rumored, did Trump actually give up these prized jets for Edan thereby shrinking Israel’s guaranteed qualitative military edge? Expecting goodwill from Hamas is like leaving services on the high holidays without being asked to make a donation. Not gonna happen. So we know he had to give up something, and that’s just it. We don’t know what it was.

It’s also been reported that Edan’s return may have simply been a gift. Uh, if it was, instead of a Jew, next time can we try a picture frame or bottle of wine? Or how about Exploding Device of the Month Club? This is kind of the icky part I was talking about, one Jewish life being reduced to a tradable commodity to be wheeled and dealed by one of Israel’s worst enemies.

Trump loves a win, no matter how shortsighted. His desperation to look good at any cost makes him highly susceptible in such situations. Everyone knows this, including the Qataris who shrewdly gave him his photo op and purported offer for a shiny new toy airplane. Again, I wasn’t there, but given what we know about the deal so far, it’s easy to think that Trump got played like a round of golf at Doral.

Trump will get something down the road, that’s for sure. Whatever it is, it unconsciounably came at the expense of making Edan Alexander star in his own propaganda pony show with those who funded his kidnapping. I hate to say it’s like if Hitler personally freed the camps and made Jews take a photo op with him upon their release, but well, it is sort of like that.

The problem isn’t just that Edan was exploited for Trump’s gain. There was no Israeli representation in the room to push back against whatever it is the US promised our enemies in the future, and they are our enemies. Qatar is Hamas’s biggest benefactor, which means they arguably helped fund 10.7, and it seems that Trump just rewarded them for it.

Whatever the Qataris will get down the road, Hamas will benefit. It may even be as bad as what Trump did with Putin, giving up what the other side wants most of all before negotiations even get underway. There’s nothing more important than Israel’s security, and nothing easier it seems to trade away.

If this deal was made with Israel’s best intentions in mind, there would also be Israeli hostages coming home. But it was just Alexander, who while Israeli, is also an American citizen. This suggests way too strongly that more than Israel or the Jewish people, this deal was for the good of Trump and America.

That sad truth aside, Trump did help get Edan Alexander out from the bowels of hell. He deserves credit for that, and while we’re all a bit cynical, his loved ones and members of his community both in Israel and New Jersey are celebrating. Their personal nightmare is over.

As self-serving as the deal appears, one could still argue that Trump may very well be the best friend in the White House that Israel has ever had. But just like the importance of knowing the full price of a deal, it’s important to know the price of a political friendship. Right now, the problem is, we just don’t know either.