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Trump’s Schizophrenic Middle East Policy After 100 days
US President Donald Trump attends the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, April 21, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis
JNS.org – For decades, political observers have judged American presidents by their first 100 days—a somewhat arbitrary marker that can still offer insights into the administration’s priorities and governing style. Trump has done more during this time than any other president. His decisions have been good, questionable or awful, depending on your partisanship. That is true of his policy toward the Middle East and Israel specifically.
If anyone ever believed that Trump holds a special regard for the US-Israel relationship, his imposition of a 17% tariff on Israeli goods, after Israel eliminated tariffs on American imports, should shatter that illusion. Israel is facing harsher tariffs than many countries that are not allies.
Trump’s advisors and cabinet are a mixed bag of pro-Israel stalwarts and isolationists. There are officials with ties to Qatar and others with far-right extremists. One of the more promising appointments has been Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has initiated a much-needed overhaul of the US State Department, eliminating USAID—a move with mixed consequences, given that it both defunded problematic NGOs and cut off support for Israeli hospitals. Another positive addition to the State Department is Mike Huckabee, a Christian Zionist appointed as US ambassador to Israel.
If you substitute the name Obama or Biden for many of Trump’s other policies, Jewish conservatives would be apoplectic. Remember the uproar when Obama visited Cairo and skipped Jerusalem? Trump is going to Saudi Arabia but not Israel. How about the decision to negotiate directly with Hamas and Iran?
Biden’s approach to Israel vacillated between Jekyll and Hyde. Trump’s policies have been similar.
He pressured Israel into ceasefires with Hamas and Hezbollah. Now, however, he’s allowing strikes in the Gaza Strip and Southern Lebanon. He warned against attacking Beirut but apparently approved the attack on a Hezbollah missile facility in a suburb.
Trump told Israel not to attack the Houthis, who are targeting it almost daily. Unlike Biden, who was petrified of the possibility of escalation, Trump ordered ongoing US military strikes on Yemen.
He blocked Israel from attacking Iran but threatened war to stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. Trump has resumed his “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran but said he wants to have direct talks with its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei. He’s moved significant military assets to the region but has not used them to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities. He says that Iran can’t have a nuclear bomb, but his negotiator talked about a modified version of Obama’s nuclear deal that Trump tore up because it would not accomplish that goal. Like Obama, he is letting Iran string him along and refuse to talk about its missile program or sponsorship of terror.
Trump ordered the release of weapons that Biden withheld and removed his predecessor’s sanctions on settlers. The administration has also denied visas to Israeli cyber experts.
After meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump then praised Turkey’s Islamist leader, who has been threatening Israel while saying he could mediate between them.
Trump warned Hamas that there would be “hell to pay” if the hostages weren’t freed, which was an empty threat the terrorists ignored. Meanwhile, his negotiator, Adam Boehler, prioritized the release of Americans and was prepared to leave the other Israeli captives behind while expecting Israel to hand over Palestinian prisoners. In response to criticism, he said, “We’re the United States; we’re not an agent of Israel.”
Trump has shown no interest in resuscitating his failed peace plan from his first term or engaging in a new initiative involving the Palestinians. He cut aid again to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and remains unwilling to fund the Palestinian Authority while its “pay-to-slay” policy continues. Trump floated the fanciful plan to take over Gaza, expel the Palestinians and create a “Riviera of the Middle East,” which received a great deal of backlash and has since stalled in terms of going forward.
After weeks of ignoring the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Trump sounded almost Bidenesque in his demand that Israel open access points for the delivery aid.
Administration leaks of Israeli military plans and shared intelligence has affected Israel’s security.
Domestically, his draconian fund cuts and other threats have forced universities to take antisemitism on campus more seriously. The Hamas-loving protesters no longer have free rein, and some are being targeted for deportation.
Trump issued an executive order mandating full and timely disclosure of foreign funding by higher education institutions, which may finally allow the public to know how much Arab money flows to universities and the purpose of those funds. The administration has also opened dozens of investigations of institutions of higher learning to determine their compliance with civil-rights laws protecting Jews and others. Simultaneously, however, he gutted the department responsible for conducting those reviews.
Perhaps more seriously, Trump has undercut Israel with his rhetoric. When he refused to commit to removing the tariff on Israel, he said: “Don’t forget, we help Israel a lot. We give Israel $4 billion a year, that’s a lot.” Stressing the point further, he added that “we give Israel billions of dollars a year. Billions. It’s one of the highest of anyone.”
This effectively lumped Israel with other countries he considers schnorrers—freeloaders he accuses of sponging off the United States, ignoring the mutual benefits of our alliance. Nevertheless, Rubio expedited the delivery of the $4 billion in military assistance.
After 100 days, Trump has an uneven record, combining some very commendable moves with some serious missteps.
The post Trump’s Schizophrenic Middle East Policy After 100 days first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students
Haredi Jewish men look at the scene of an explosion at a bus stop in Jerusalem, Israel, on Nov. 23, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Ammar Awad
Israel’s military said it would issue 54,000 call-up notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish seminary students following a Supreme Court ruling mandating their conscription and amid growing pressure from reservists stretched by extended deployments.
The Supreme Court ruling last year overturned a decades-old exemption for ultra-Orthodox students, a policy established when the community comprised a far smaller segment of the population than the 13 percent it represents today.
Military service is compulsory for most Israeli Jews from the age of 18, lasting 24-32 months, with additional reserve duty in subsequent years. Members of Israel’s 21 percent Arab population are mostly exempt, though some do serve.
A statement by the military spokesperson confirmed the orders on Sunday just as local media reported legislative efforts by two ultra-Orthodox parties in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition to craft a compromise.
The exemption issue has grown more contentious as Israel’s armed forces in recent years have faced strains from simultaneous engagements with Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Houthis in Yemen, and Iran.
Ultra-Orthodox leaders in Netanyahu’s brittle coalition have voiced concerns that integrating seminary students into military units alongside secular Israelis, including women, could jeopardize their religious identity.
The military statement promised to ensure conditions that respect the ultra-Orthodox way of life and to develop additional programs to support their integration into the military. It said the notices would go out this month.
The post Israel to Issue 54,000 Call-Up Notices to Ultra-Orthodox Students first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich attends an inauguration event for Israel’s new light rail line for the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, in Petah Tikva, Israel, Aug. 17, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich sharply criticized on Sunday a cabinet decision to allow some aid into Gaza as a “grave mistake” that he said would benefit the terrorist group Hamas.
Smotrich also accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of failing to ensure that Israel’s military is following government directives in prosecuting the war against Hamas in Gaza. He said he was considering his “next steps” but stopped short of explicitly threatening to quit the coalition.
Smotrich’s comments come a day before Netanyahu is due to hold talks in Washington with President Donald Trump on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day Gaza ceasefire.
“… the cabinet and the Prime Minister made a grave mistake yesterday in approving the entry of aid through a route that also benefits Hamas,” Smotrich said on X, arguing that the aid would ultimately reach the Islamist group and serve as “logistical support for the enemy during wartime”.
The Israeli government has not announced any changes to its aid policy in Gaza. Israeli media reported that the government had voted to allow additional aid to enter northern Gaza.
The prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The military declined to comment.
Israel accuses Hamas of stealing aid for its own fighters or to sell to finance its operations, an accusation Hamas denies. Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe, with conditions threatening to push nearly a half a million people into famine within months, according to U.N. estimates.
Israel in May partially lifted a nearly three-month blockade on aid. Two Israeli officials said on June 27 the government had temporarily stopped aid from entering north Gaza.
PRESSURE
Public pressure in Israel is mounting on Netanyahu to secure a permanent ceasefire, a move opposed by some hardline members of his right-wing coalition. An Israeli team left for Qatar on Sunday for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal.
Smotrich, who in January threatened to withdraw his Religious Zionism party from the government if Israel agreed to a complete end to the war before having achieved its objectives, did not mention the ceasefire in his criticism of Netanyahu.
The right-wing coalition holds a slim parliamentary majority, although some opposition lawmakers have offered to support the government from collapsing if a ceasefire is agreed.
The post Influential Far-Right Minister Lashes out at Netanyahu Over Gaza War Policy first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese speaks to the media during a press conference with New Zealand’s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at the Australian Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Aug. 16, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy
Australian police have charged a man in connection with an alleged arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue with worshippers in the building, the latest in a series of incidents targeting the nation’s Jewish community.
There were no injuries to the 20 people inside the East Melbourne Synagogue, who fled from the fire on Friday night. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in the capital of Victoria state.
Australia has experienced several antisemitic incidents since the start of the Israel-Gaza war in October 2023.
Counter-terrorism detectives late on Saturday arrested the 34-year-old resident of Sydney, capital of neighboring New South Wales, charging him with offenses including criminal damage by fire, police said.
“The man allegedly poured a flammable liquid on the front door of the building and set it on fire before fleeing the scene,” police said in a statement.
The suspect, whom the authorities declined to identify, was remanded in custody after his case was heard at Melbourne Magistrates Court on Sunday and no application was made for bail, the Australian Broadcasting Corp reported.
Authorities are investigating whether the synagogue fire was linked to a disturbance on Friday night at an Israeli restaurant in Melbourne, in which one person was arrested for hindering police.
The restaurant was extensively damaged, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, an umbrella group for Australia’s Jews.
It said the fire at the synagogue, one of Melbourne’s oldest, was set as those inside sat down to Sabbath dinner.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog went on X to “condemn outright the vile arson attack targeting Jews in Melbourne’s historic and oldest synagogue on the Sabbath, and on an Israeli restaurant where people had come to enjoy a meal together”.
“This is not the first such attack in Australia in recent months. But it must be the last,” Herzog said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu described the incidents as “severe hate crimes” that he viewed “with utmost gravity.” “The State of Israel will continue to stand alongside the Australian Jewish community,” Netanyahu said on X.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese late on Saturday described the alleged arson, which comes seven months after another synagogue in Melbourne was targeted by arsonists, as shocking and said those responsible should face the law’s full force.
“My Government will provide all necessary support toward this effort,” Albanese posted on X.
Homes, schools, synagogues and vehicles in Australia have been targeted by antisemitic vandalism and arson. The incidents included a fake plan by organized crime to attack a Sydney synagogue using a caravan of explosives in order to divert police resources, police said in March.
The post Australia Police Charge Man Over Alleged Arson on Melbourne Synagogue first appeared on Algemeiner.com.