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Trump Infuriates U.S. Israeli Lobby

As published in the Victoria Standard: August 6, 2016.

In spite of his divisive rhetoric on U.S. domestic issues; Donald Trump’s public statements on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are surprisingly sensible. Reasonable enough, in fact; to infuriate the Israeli lobby and its neoconservative agents in the Republican Party who adhere to a policy of Israeli exceptionalism.

According to Trump, “There’s nothing I would rather do than bring peace to Israel and its neighbours and I think it serves no purpose to say, but you have a good guy and a bad guy….I cannot do that as well if I am taking sides.” As Justin Raimondo wrote in the May 2016 issue of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, “…here is someone [Trump] who has defied the bipartisan consensus on Israeli-American relations, which is that we must always give unstinting and unconditional support to a Jewish state…and ignore the horrific conditions under which Palestinians live.”

Although Trump’s comments may be more indicative of his desire to limit U.S. involvement in international conflicts than any genuine concern for Palestinian rights; his success during this U.S. presidential race has seriously undermined those who demonize the notion of an impartial approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with specious accusations of anti-Semitism.

The Israeli lobby is well aware that, were Trump to become president and ultimately fail in his impartial approach to Israeli-Palestinian peace; Israel would be blamed. According to Raimondo, “…for domestic political reasons, the Israeli leadership cannot and will not make any serious concessions-which is why they view Trump’s even-handedness with absolute horror.”