President Donald Trump is visiting three Middle Eastern countries this week, but one he’s left out has an extremely powerful voting bloc furious.
Trump and his entourage will make stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Israel is not on the list.
The New York Times reported it was not the first time Trump has been seen as sidelining Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The perceived snub followed a truce the president announced with Yemen-based Houthi rebels which did not involve Israel. Just days later, Trump was said to be considering a nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia — again without making preconditions involving that nation’s relationship with Israel, the Times reported.
“Many Israelis are wondering whether Israel is the next U.S. ally to be left behind by a president they considered, just months ago, to be the most pro-Israel in history,” the Times reported.
“It’s total panic,” said ex-Netanyahu aide Shalom Lipner about the reaction to Trump's behavior.
Former Middle East envoy Dennis Ross told the newspaper there were worries that Israel’s concerns, “are not being taken into account, or if they are, they’re dismissed.
“What you’re seeing is that President Trump has an idea of what is in our interest, and that comes first. He defines the nature of our interests abroad not through a geopolitical or security context, but an economic, financial and trade frame. I think President Trump might have the view that ‘We give them $4 billion a year in military assistance. I do plenty to support the Israelis.’”
The shift in mood is dramatic, coming just months after Netanyahu called Trump’s election victory “history’s greatest comeback.”
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But, the Times reported, “The mood began to shift even before Trump’s inauguration. Privately, some Netanyahu allies groused about Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, pressuring Netanyahu into a ceasefire agreement with Hamas and claimed that Witkoff was influenced by personal business ties with Qatar.
“In the Oval Office in April, Trump announced in front of Netanyahu and the assembled press that the U.S. would hold direct talks with Iran over its nuclear program. The Israeli prime minister, who has pushed U.S. leaders for more than a decade to use military force to dismantle Iran’s nuclear facilities, glanced away, appearing visibly surprised.
“One Trump adviser, who described Trump’s treatment of Netanyahu as “one notch above” his fractious White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky three months ago.”
Israeli political analyst Amit Segal told the Times, “There is more and more criticism, with people saying: We put all our eggs in one basket and now we are empty-handed.
“What will Israel do now? Call [Rep.] Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? It’s a problem.”
