Donald Trump’s legacy, like man himself, will be complicated, but the only certainty will be his record of accomplishing what conventional wisdom has said cannot be done. His shocking global victory in the 2016 elections is the best example, and ordering the development and approval of COVID-19 vaccines in just nine months is another.
The Abraham Accords are the third amazing achievement. When Trump took office, only two Arab nations, Egypt and Jordan, had treaties with Israel, a situation that had changed unchanged since 1994. There are now six regional nations with diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.
“We make it seem easy,” joked Jared Kushner, whose persistent and tireless diplomacy has helped ensure historic progress.
Of course, it was not easy to add the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan to the list of those who recognize Israel’s right to exist and the opening of trade and tourism routes, which should give an economic boost to all participants. If it had been easy, the transactions could have been signed at any time in the last 75 years.
The fact that they were signed with Trump (shown with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan) in the White House was a direct result of its policies. The most important of these was his position on two fundamental issues: He would bring America closer to Israel and treat Iran as a dangerous outcast.
Both positions were a reversal of the Obama administration’s policies, which had treated Israel as a problem and Iran as an opportunity. The result was eight years of uninterrupted failure – the freezing of talks between Israel and the Palestinians and an encouraged Iran, aggressively spreading chaos and terror.
Trump, on the other hand, “was not tied to what had happened before and drove people out of the comfort zone,” Kushner said in an interview. “We were transactional and he gave us a lot of room for maneuver.”
The “comfort zone” Trump faced included decades of wisdom received in the US State Department and in foreign ministries around the world. They insisted that progress would come after America pushed Israel to make peace with the Palestinians, which could eventually lead to a gradual warming of relations between Israel and the Arab states.
Conventional wisdom has also assumed that the Iranian nuclear pact, which Obama devised, will tame the pursuit of mad mullah domination.
All these assumptions were wrong.
Trump, Kushner, David Friedman – America’s ambassador to Israel – and others took a different approach. They believed that embracing Israel and isolating Iran by withdrawing from the nuclear deal and re-establishing sanctions would reshape the region. They were right.
The first test decided in 2017 to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which, instead of leading to widespread Arab riots, produced only minor grudges. Similarly, Israel’s recognition of the annexation of the Golan Heights did not cause explosions.
This “merger with Israel,” as Kushner calls it, as it took over Iran, served as a cry for Arab nations tired of Palestinian rejection and fear of Iran’s military intentions. They increasingly saw Israel, with its powerful army, as an ally against Iran.
“Everyone who flees between Israel and any of these countries becomes an ambassador for the Abraham Accords,” Kushner said. “It just shows that all the old thinking about what was possible is out of date.”
An American involved in the trial noted that unimaginable events just a few months ago, such as kosher restaurants opening in Dubai and Arabs requesting a visit from Israelis to take pictures together, happen so quickly and often that not even they are not current.
Although this is not yet the lion that sits with the lamb, there is an opportunity to expand the alliance. Saudi Arabia has added unofficial ties to Israel, and the Crown Prince recently met with Netanyahu.
The Palestinians, who have cursed Trump badly and refused to negotiate with Kushner, have said since the election that they will resume talks with Israel and Washington. As always, expect them to overlap and reject every offer that could make life better for their citizens.
Kushner, who has endured many bricks as Trump’s son-in-law and special adviser, is ever a diplomat when asked what he thinks Biden will do.
“My hope is that people will take a moment and see that what we have done is built on a logical basis,” he said, adding that he would like to see “the next administration follows the path.”
It would be sensible and smart to recognize agreements as a gift. Instead, Biden has already said he hopes to join Iran’s agreement, which would undermine the new alliance and create nervousness over Iran’s aggression. He also intends to resume payments to the Palestinians, which Trump concluded because the money was used to pay “salaries” to the families of the terrorists who killed the Israelis.
Moreover, many of Biden’s fellow Democrats are openly hostile to Israel, especially under Netanyahu, and some, including Rep. Ilan Omar (D-Minn.), Routinely use anti-Semitic troops.
All of this suggests the opportunity for historical stability and regional economic growth that Trump has created is jeopardized by Biden’s backward thinking. What a waste, what a tragic waste.
The hypocrisy of silence
The mayor, governor, city council and state legislature ride the hobbies of social justice and the Black Lives Matter. Then why is he silent about the growing number of black New Yorkers who are being killed?
As of December 20, the NYPD reports that 437 people were killed in 2020, up from 314 for the same period last year, an increase of 39%. That means another 123 victims and, if the previous patterns are kept, the vast majority of deaths, maybe even 95%, are black or Latino.
In total, more than 1,800 people were shot in the city, an increase of almost 1,000 victims from last year. In previous years, almost all the shooters were black and Latino, as were the shooters, police reports said.
Where is the outrage?
A Dem Hunter hunt? Yeah sure
Register it under Fat Chance.
Reader Jeffrey Tew, a Miami lawyer, supports a special lawyer for the Hunter Biden investigation. He writes: “Democrats expect us to believe that a attorney general appointed by Joe Biden would charge Son Hunter or Brother Jim if the evidence warrants a charge. We should believe that the new GA, which will be a lifelong Democrat, will be the first in American history to allow the indictment of a family member of the president who appointed him.
“Even a special adviser would find it difficult to make an accusation if justified, but at least there would be a chance of a fair outcome.”
Title: “Girl Scouts Rebuke Boy Scouts in Recruiting Recruitment War.”
No, nothing is sacred in 2020.