Netanyahu wanted Trump back. But the Middle East has changed since 2016.
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. TEL AVIV—Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies celebrated Donald Trump’s win, assuming the former president’s return to the White House will bring it with the kind of support for Netanyahu’s policies that characterized Trump’s first term in office. But this time around, things are different.
Israel is now embroiled in wars on multiple fronts that have increasingly relied on U.S. support, including defensive help from American forces in thwarting Iranian missiles. The Middle East is teetering on the edge of a broader war that threatens to pull in world powers like the U.S., Russia and China.
Trump’s next administration likely won’t have the same cast of characters as his first. Jared Kushner, who was responsible for his Middle East policy during Trump’s first term, has so far said he doesn’t plan to play a role in his father-in-law’s administration. And behind Trump’s support lies a healthy dose of isolationist fervor, raising questions about to what extent a second Trump administration will want to put U.S.
assets on the line for even its closest foreign allies. Add to that residual anger from the president-elect toward Netanyahu for being the first foreign leader to congratulate President Biden on his 2020 win, and it becomes far less clear what the administration’s posture will be toward the prime minister and Israeli interests. “This won’t be a repeat of 2016," said Shmuel Rosner, a senior fellow at the Jerusalem-based Jewish People Policy Institute.
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