Hitler to Hamas: US Policy Repeats Itself 80 Years On

“I love Trump!” exclaimed the middle-aged Eilat resident in a pink tank top, working the register at the diving center. It was 8 AM, and the news had just broken.

Trump had called for the relocation of the Gazans, urging to “take ownership” of the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Everyone in their wetsuits began communicating passionately among themselves. History was unfolding. For the first time in a long while, a US President had unashamedly stood side by side with Israel, condemning the chaos in the Gaza Strip.

During my breathtaking dive in the silent reefs of the Red Sea, it became clear that Trump’s statement seemed oddly familiar—a reflection of the cyclical nature of history. His words echoed a policy implemented by the US after WWII in Germany.

After the Allies’ victory over Germany in 1945, the US remained in West Germany, establishing military bases and enacting policies to aid the Germans in rehabilitation. The goal was to build a demilitarized, democratic society, eventually granting West Germany independence in 1949. The Germans, like the Palestinians today, were unable to achieve democracy on their own. It had been tried and failed repeatedly since the Weimar Republic was established in 1918, following the dismantling of the Prussian Empire after World War I.

The same realization is true today. Like the Germans before them, the Palestinians are unable to govern themselves without their deeply embedded, destructive terrorist ideology. It has been tried and failed time and time again. The Palestinians are not capable of implementing a healthy, self-governing, democratic government.

Their terror driven ideology runs too deep. It is ingrained in every fabric of their society, so deeply rooted in their education system that every school has become a breeding ground for terror. The ideology needs to be eradicated. The question is, how deep does it go? I feel as though, at this point in history, the Palestinians view their roots as deeply embedded as olive trees. Diplomatic relations between the 7 million Jews and 7 million Arabs, two passionate peoples, seem impossible. However, from a 1945 perspective, it might have seemed just as impossible to believe that the Germans could move past their destructive Aryan propaganda.

Deep in my heart, I long for Israel to reclaim Gush Katif—to right the wrongs of the past. It hurts that America would swoop in after the blood of our soldiers has drenched the ground beneath the rubble. I want it back. This is my messianic dream. We have fought, died, and suffered. In an alternative universe, before the UN and diplomatic relations, the strongest nation, the conquering nation, was the one that took the land.

In the reality of 2025, this is merely a messianic dream. To annex the land with the population in it, has been tried and failed. The current situation in the West Bank is far from favorable. The millions of Arabs cannot (and don’t seem to want to) receive citizenship to effectively create a Jewish and democratic state. There is too much pain and hatred, and again, we need the redeemer for that dream.

Will the land eventually be given to the Arabs as an independent state? At this point in history, it is impossible to tell. Trump has made his statement, but I humbly echo the sentiments of Israeli Knesset members: “We will only believe it when we see it.” There is inherent skepticism. Perhaps this is just another business venture, Trump Towers: Middle East Edition. However, the statement itself is groundbreaking. It takes guts to present an alternative solution to such a monumental problem. It has been proven that this is an issue the entire world, for many unknown reasons, clearly cares about. It takes courage to stand for Israel and recognize that prior solutions have been nothing but flimsy band-aids.

Perhaps this alternative solution, even just presenting itself, will finally bring much-needed peace to the region. Even if it never amounts to reality, it was important for the world to hear a President finally speaking up candidly and unashamedly. A far cry from the wishy washy statements for the past four and a half years. For now, only time will tell. Until then, we wait. Our children will read about this in their history books. Trump and Bibi will likely have passed, and we will tell them about the day this gutsy, historic statement was made—the morning I decided to go scuba diving.