It was a full-fledged love offensive, on land, on sea and in the air. US President Donald Trump took advantage of his 26 hours in Jerusalem to shower every imaginable compliment on Israel's government and leaders. He went out of his way to convince Israelis that he is the No. 1 fan of the Jewish state and that there has never been a president more sympathetic to the Zionist idea than him.
In all of Trump's speeches and statements during the visit, he sounded as if he was reading off a page of messages put together by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office. He reiterated the Israeli-Zionist narrative until he was blurry-eyed. He skipped over all the problematic issues, never mentioning construction in the settlements or the two-state solution. It was a very calculated and carefully planned move by Trump, whose policies concerning the Middle East peace process have been an island of sanity, common sense and measured responses, especially when compared to this president's reactions to all other issues.
