An Iِِِsraeli Rabbi Says Donald Trump is Like Joshua

A number of prominent Jewish religion references in Israel have celebrated Donald Trump’s winning of the US presidential elections. Rabbi David Cook, one of Israel’s well-known religious references, said that the Trump is like Joshua, who led the Jews 2000 years ago in the battle that led to undermining the Giants, stressing that Trump will enhance the position of Israel.

Rabbi Meir Mazuz, the main reference governing Aryeh Deri, the head of “Shas” movement and Israeli interior minister, said, “A miracle has happened to us, as Trump will not put pressure on Israel as the “black” president did, and we will be able to build everywhere in spite of our enemies and haters”, referring to the fact that Trump’s son in law is a Jew and that his daughter has naturally become a Jew.

Trump addresses the Israelis through ‘Israel Today’ newspaper

In a special gesture, US President-elect Donald Trump, has directed a message to the Israeli public, in which he expressed his love and respect for Israel and its citizens.

In a message published in ‘Israel Today’, an Israeli newspaper close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and owned by the Jewish-American billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who has donated tens of millions of dollars for Trump’s campaign, the US president-elect Trump talked about the “common values” of both Israel and the United States.

Trump praised the “democracy” of Israel, saying: “I understand that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East, which protects human rights and constitutes a light to the hopes of many people.”

Trump also expressed his commitment to working to help the Israelis and Palestinians to reach a “just and lasting peace that should be achieved through negotiations between the two parties, not to be imposed by other parties, as Israel and the Jewish people deserve this.”

Counting on Trump’s victory, Israeli officials are seeking to escalate construction of settlements in Jerusalem

Israeli officials are preparing to ratify the building of 7000 housing units beyond the Green Line, according to The Times of Israel-Arabic.

The Jerusalem municipality will approve the construction of thousands of housing units in neighborhoods beyond the Green Line in the wake of the election of Donald Trump, Israeli officials said.

The construction of about 7,000 housing units was frozen because of political pressure from the government, which feared invoking Washington’s hostility, said Meir Turgeman, the head of planning and construction dept. at the Jerusalem municipality.About 3,000 housing units are pending approval in Gilo, 2600 in Givat Hamatos, and 1,500 in Ramat Shlomo, according to The Times of Israel.

Trump could kill off what’s left of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process

Vox, an American opinion website, published an article by Sarah Wildman, a frequent contributor to the New York Times, Washington Post, and other publications under the above title.

“In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, peace can hinge on turns of phrase. And that’s why many throughout the region have been so startled by the turns of phrase being used by aides to the president-elect,” the article of Sarah Wildman started.

“It is certainly not Mr. Trump’s view that settlement activities should be condemned and that it is an obstacle for peace, because it is not an obstacle for peace,” Jason Greenblatt, the Trump team’s point person on Israel — and rumored potential new envoy to the region — told Israeli Army Radio.

The language is significant. For three decades, American foreign policy leaders have consistently labeled Israeli settlements in the occupied territories to be exactly that. “Obstacles to peace” is foreign policy speak for a total roadblock toward finding an agreement with the Palestinians on territorial concessions and creating a contiguous Palestinian state alongside a Jewish one, said Wildman.

The prospect of such a deal has grown remote as the number of Israelis living over the “Green Line,” the pre-1967 border between Israel and the West Bank, has swelled to an estimated 400,000, plus another 210,000 in East Jerusalem.

Sarah Fridman continued saying, “In the event of a peace deal, many of these West Bank Jewish towns would likely be uprooted, though any agreement is likely to involve Israel annexing the settlements close to the Green Line where the vast majority of the settlers currently live.”

The fact that there’s no peace process to speak of doesn’t mean that the situation between the Israelis and Palestinians remains static. And the more the facts on the ground change, the harder it will be to come to an agreement — and the more a theoretical agreement must be modified to accommodate facts on the ground, said Wildman.

Trump may deal a final blow to the peace process

Trump’s win, and his position on settlements, may constrain the legacy Obama would be attempting to create. But Obama’s moves could still have an impact on what the Trump administration does regarding the conflict, just as Trump’s early statements have already had an impact on the region.

The radio interview with Greenblatt, Trump’s man on Israel, has already prompted provocative statements from right-wing members of the Israeli Knesset. Naftali Bennett, head of the Jewish Home Party and Israeli education minister, announced, “The victory of Trump is a huge opportunity for Israel to immediately announce that it renounces the idea of establishing Palestine in the heart of the country. … The era of the Palestinian state is over.’’