Is Trump Good for Israel? (John Donvan; Open to Debate podcast)

Many Israelis celebrated Donald Trump’s election victory and view him as an unparalleled ally. His first term solidified that perception: he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital by moving the U.S. embassy there and brokered the historic Abraham Accords. To them, Trump understood Israel’s security concerns, international challenges, and sovereign aspirations.

That belief persists into his second term. So far, he’s backed Israel militarily in its war with Hamas and suggested ideas like evacuating Palestinians from Gaza. Supporters argue that Trump’s alignment with Israel is deep-rooted and enduring. But critics view his support as transactional, not ideological — subject to change if broader U.S. interests, such as relations with Iran, come into play. They also note his wavering commitment to resolving the Gaza conflict, citing recent remarks that suggest a lack of interest in pushing for peace. Some argue his resistance to a two-state solution ensures long-term regional instability.

As Israel navigates a volatile geopolitical landscape, Trump’s role remains divisive. Is his support a genuine strategic partnership—or one driven more by political convenience than principle? We ask: Is Trump Good for Israel?

This release is the first installment of our inaugural foreign policy debate summit: The Trump Doctrine: A Global Reckoning?— a three-part series examining how Donald Trump’s foreign policy in his second term is reshaping U.S. relations with Russia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Interview: 

https://opentodebate.org/debate/is-trump-good-for-israel/

As Gaza is bombed and starved, the Arab world is watching – and it’s angry

Arab countries will not go to war with Israel. But they do not have to for Israel's position to become significantly weakened, for regional brokers to withdraw – as they have already done when a summit with Joe Biden in Amman was cancelled – and for non-state actors to be drawn into the war even further. The Palestinian grievance is then resurrected in the worst possible way – with no resolution or peace for the Palestinians, permanent vulnerability for Israel, and the agitation of a region whose capacity for revolt by no means fell asleep after 2011. Squeeze people tight enough, and it's all still there...

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/22/gaza-bombed-starved-arab-world-watching-angry

How the Arab world sees the Israel-Palestine conflict

For Palestinians and Arabs, the war did not begin on the morning of October 7 with Hamas's attacks on Israel. Rather, for them, the war has been ongoing since 1948, when militias expelled Palestinians from their homes and killed tens of thousands in what is called the Nakba, or catastrophe. It continued with the 1967 setback — as the Six-Day War is called in Arabic — in which Israel began occupying the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, and has carried on through waves of further conflicts and protests...

https://www.vox.com/world-politics/2023/10/14/23914904/arab-world-israel-palestine-conflict-middle-east

Israeli unrest: Arab citizens protest over Gaza and Jerusalem - The Washington Post

… Arabs make up 20 percent of Israel's population and are the descendants of Palestinians who remained inside Israel's borders following the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. They have long complained of what they say is institutionalized discrimination against them...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/israel-arabs-palestinians-protests-unrest/2021/05/12/af8df29a-b308-11eb-bc96-fdf55de43bef_story.html

Facing a Palestinian state, Arab Israelis find Trump's Mideast plan unworkable

Arab citizens have slammed the measure as “racist” and part of a long-term Israeli strategy to expand its territory while maintaining a Jewish majority. ....
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/facing-palestinian-state-arab-israelis-find-trump-s-mideast-plan-n1140331

US withdrawal from Syria will endanger Kurds, Arabs, Christians - The Hill

Four years of partnership should not be tossed aside because of an impetuous presidential tweet. ....
https://thehill.com/opinion/national-security/422990-us-withdrawal-from-syria-will-endanger-kurds-arabs-christians

This racist new law makes me ashamed to be Israeli | Daniel Barenboim - the guardian

Israeli Arabs are being made second-class citizens. This form of apartheid violates the founding commitment to equality I gave a speech at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in 2004 in which I spoke about the declaration of independence of the state of Israel. ....
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/23/israel-racist-new-law-ashamed-apartheid-daniel-barenboim