Why Israel's right has its doubts about Trump
The euphoria that swept the Israeli right following Donald Trump’s electoral victory is swiftly fading as the world begins the tense wait to learn whether his campaign promises will become realities.
The euphoria that spread across the Israeli right on the night that Donald Trump was elected was in some ways reminiscent of Israel right after the 1967 Six-Day War. Some Israelis saw Trump as the envoy of the Messiah who will complete the divine process that began in 1967, when Israel defeated Jordan and captured Judea and Samaria, the birthplace of the Jewish people, and liberated King David’s capital in East Jerusalem.
Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of that war. And for the first time, there is a real chance that the United States of America, Israel’s official patron, will lift its opposition to the occupation in a historic change of course. Ever since the morning of Nov. 9, various spokespeople for the Israeli right have competed among themselves to find the most enthusiastic superlatives to describe the president-elect and to sketch out settlement-expansion plans for immediate action. They wanted to strike while the American iron was still red hot.
