There is some daylight between Trump and Israel.
Donald Trump, as Cyrus the Great, follows the principles of pragmatic “realpolitik”.
A friend of mine, who is a loyal supporter of Israel and a conservative to the bone, is consistently critical of Trump’s statements which, at times, indeed require unquestionable belief in the President to justify. Some people were attributing Trump’s manner to communicate having a trait of narcissistic personality. He is certainly not a refined diplomat who speaks soft and in vague language when trying to resolve conflicts and crises. Trump, to support and promote the objective at hand, says what is on his mind now.
Recently I wrote an article praising the attitude and devotion of American President, Donald Trump, toward Jews and Israel. I was comparing him to Cyrus the Great, who liberated the Judeans from Babylonian captivity, and helped to rebuild the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 516 BCE. It is important to note that Cyrus the Great above all was concerned with the stability and peace in his enormous Persian empire and to achieve trouble-free domain some of his decisions were beneficial and some were detrimental to Jews or for that matter to anybody else under his reign. Trump, of all American Presidents, was seeing in the State of Israel not only as a needed partner in the unpredictable Middle East region but as a close friend who shares American values. In the first term as a 45th President of United States and the year and half of second term as a 47th, Donald Trump did not deviate from the firm affection and encouragement of Jews and Israel. However, something has changed in the last several weeks.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), between Iran and United States to end the war, was signed by Donald Trump at the last day of G7 summit of 2026 at the Versailles Palace on June 17, 2026. The point 1 of the MoU says: “The United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran and their allies in the current war, by signing this MoU, declare the immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon”.
In their speeches promoting the MoU, President Trump and Vice-President JD Vance were undermining the sovereignty of Jewish state and the credibility of Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu. They were denying Israel the right to respond to Hezbollah’s aggression. Donad Trump lambasted Jewish State for its defense against Hezbollah’s attacks. He says:” Israel is fighting Hezbollah too long and too many people are being killed’ and “I’m not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and with Hezbollah. They should have been able to do the job faster. It just goes on forever. And when that happens, it throws a negative light on the big deal, and that’s the deal with Iran”. President Trump implies that nothing should stay in the way of the deal with Iran, including moral and ethical considerations of betraying the ally.
Disagreements happen between allies and they usually are remediated. But this blundering disrespect for the security of the ally grades this disagreement on the scale from 0 to 10 at a solid 10. I will look at the possible causes of this change later in the article. But for now, I have a question: why Israel was not a part of negotiations that produced this document?
It is fundamentally wrong that Israel was not part of the negotiation process producing recommendations to resolve the conflict. The Jewish State knows the physical, political, cultural and social landscape of the Middle Eastern region and, with its enormous experience acquired during many decades, can be an indispensable negotiation partner. To exclude Israel from being part of negotiations with Iran is the blunt travesty of fairness and logic and it can be without any doubt attributed to Vice President JD Vance’s antisemitic tendencies. Later in the article you will find justification for the last claim. In less than five months the United States will face mid-term elections in which in the past out of forty-one times the party in power had lost thirty-eight times. If Democrats win upcoming mid-term elections and take the House of Representatives and the Senate, considering the extreme polarization of opposing parties, Trump may face impeachment and even jail. It will not stop on the punishment of the present President; his family and members of his administration will chastise by the Democratic party terror machine. The outcomes of the elections in United Stated in large measure is dependent on the prices of the things Americans are buying everyday: gasoline, milk, meat, bread and so on. “It’s the economy, stupid” announced James Carville in 1992 Presidential elections and the essence of the phrase carried Bill Clinton to victory over the incumbent, George H.W. Bush. Several weeks ago, the price of oil was around hundred of dollars and, consequently, the price of gasoline in United States was higher than four dollars per gallon, compared to $2.80 per gallon in January 2026, the time before the beginning of Iran-U.S. war. You don’t have to be a genius to appreciate President Trump’s predicament. A businessman and dealmaker, he understands the negative effect of increase in gasoline prices on the outcome of mid-term elections. His dilemma was exacerbated by the decision he must make-which approaches to choose to reduce the price of gasoline.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio deeply dislikes the diplomatic concessions to Iran; he praised U.S. military operations against Iran and is certain that United States should aim for regime change in Iran. On the other hand, Vice President JD Vance is promoting the anti-interventionist approach and unofficially verbalized opposition to U.S. military attacks on Iran. The foreign policy of restraint is his diplomatic platform. We should not forget that Tucker Carlson was the significant influence which advanced Vance to the position of Senator and he was lobbying Trump to accept Vance as a Vice President. “Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are” says an ancient proverb. Tucker Carlson is a passionate antisemite who hates Jews and Israel. The close association of Carlson and Vance implies they share values and beliefs. While as a Vice President in Trump’s administration Vance will not disclose his real beliefs and feelings toward the Jewish State.
Yet, it is important for all of us including Israeli leadership, to realize that in JD Vance we face a closet antisemite. I am sure experienced and smart politician like Benjamin Netanyahu knows this and in the recent speeches he firmly stresses the point for Israel to invest in and develop own military producing industry to reduce dependence on U.S., in preparation for the result of 2028 President election in United States. The American public in general, considering the decades of United States involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns, is not ready for another confrontation in the Middle East or anywhere else. President Trump’s one of the main points of election bid was his administration will not start wars.
Donald Trump, in the tradition of ‘realpolitik,’ saw only one option in dealing with Iran-United States conflict-to make the anti-interventionist Vance the main face and architect of the White House peace deal with theocratic regime. I don’t see the victory of Republicans in Presidential elections of 2028 with JD Vance as a future President of United States, as the best option for Jews and Israel. But miracles can happen, in the first term as a 45th President of United States and the year and half of second term as a 47th, Donald Trump did not deviate from the firm affection and encouragement of Jews and Israel, and this phenomenon was a wonder. Let Marco Rubio be this miracle.