After he delivered what was considered in Israel to be a dream speech at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem on May 23, US President Donald Trump met with member of Knesset Isaac Herzog, the chairman of the opposition. Herzog promised Trump that the Zionist Camp would give the prime minister a political safety net if he leads a diplomatic process with the Palestinians, and he got the impression that the American president is determined to create a breakthrough.
On his Facebook page, Herzog wrote about the meeting, “The president again clarified that he is determined to push for peace in the Middle East … and I got the impression that the president and staff are determined not to let go of the vision of peace he presented in Riyadh and in Jerusalem.” In interviews with the press, Herzog told of a true desire on the part of Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner to return Israel and the Palestinians to the negotiations table. In a conversation with Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, Herzog praised Trump for taking smart steps to neutralize fears and opposition from the two sides. Most importantly, according to Herzog, was that Trump declared to a right-wing government that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wants peace and that he is a willing partner for dialogue. From Herzog’s point of view, this was very dramatic.
It seems that Herzog, one of the leaders of the left in Israel, left the quick meeting with an excellent feeling and was taken by the charm of the new American president — but he, too, wasn’t able to name any practical aspects of Trump’s diplomatic plan. He just estimated that Trump’s envoy, Jason Greenblatt, will come to the Middle East and continue the process, and that Trump will present an outline, saying that it could be a regional process or bringing the two sides into a room. Later, he admitted that it is unknown yet what the Trump process will entail.
This short and candid sentence at the end of the statement from the chairman of the opposition precisely sums up Trump’s first visit to the region. The American president won the hearts of many Israelis with his visit to the Western Wall and the Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, his declarations of a strong alliance between the United States and Israel, his commitment to preventing Iran from holding nuclear weapons and his general talk about ending the conflict with the Palestinians.
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