Welcome to the Middle East, President Trump. Allow me to congratulate you on the efforts that led to the release of Eden Alexander from Hamas captivity and the renewal of negotiations for the release of the hostages. "Whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world."
You may not visit Israel, but you are here to achieve important objectives. According to reports, you will finalize deals worth trillions of dollars. That's wonderful. If it helps the American economy, that is certainly important. A strong America is a supreme interest of the entire free world. Best of luck, Mr. President.
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U.S. President Donald Trump with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman
(Photo: Alex Brandon / AP)
The thing is that there are a few other matters in play. In recent weeks, there has been a change in your Middle East policies. Israel, to put it mildly, has been sidelined a bit. You've reached a separate deal with the Houthis in Yemen, behind Israel's back, and more importantly, you are about to make a deal with the Ayatollah regime in Iran, also leaving Israel out.
We are hearing the voices behind that change. Their ideology is 'America First,' and they support isolationism. They do not want American involvement in the world. But let me remind you that during the two world wars, that was the declared American policy and it did not help. Germany and Japan saw it as a weakness. Both, but especially Germany, had policies of expansionism and wanted to control the world and impose their dark, racist and of course, antisemitic ideology wherever they took control.
This time, it's Iran. You know, Mr. Trump, that Iran is the head of the snake. You know this is not just about developing a nuclear weapon. Iran has the ideology that the free world should already recognize. Expansionism, coercion and the spread of racist ideologies. An Islamist empire and, as in the past, an antisemitic, destructive one. The regime in Tehran has been shouting it openly. There is no hidden agenda when Iran says it "only" seeks the destruction of Israel.
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A billboard in Tehran warns Israel is vulnerable to attack
(Photo: Majid Asgaripour / Reuters)
It's worth noting that the Iranian policy is all but isolationist. It has interfered everywhere, and it has caused ruin, destruction and bloodshed in Yemen, in Syria, in Lebanon and in Gaza.
This vile regime attempted to do the same in Morocco and is still trying in Jordan. If you remove the sanctions imposed on it, Iran will attempt to spread its revolution further. It will invest n terror and hate.
Is this the world you hope for? The biggest mistake made by the Biden administration was removing the sanctions that you imposed on Iran. It was on the brink of economic capitulation and removing the sanctions filled its coffers anew and reinvigorated its regional ambitions. Iran's proxies, the Houthis in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon, saw a surge of support. An American agreement with Iran will bring back the pre-October 7 Middle East.
Ben Dror Yamini Photo: Yuval ChenThis will not remain in the Middle East only because when the area suffers millions flee to the West and not only to Europe. They find their way into the United States as well.
But they did not flee a murderous ideology to oppose it from afar. Many, although not all, seek to impose it on the country that agreed to take them in. You deserve praise for your fight against antisemitism on American campuses, but if you remove the sanctions imposed on Iran, what you've seen in the past year would only spread further.
I was there just a fortnight ago. I saw the mad protests of the progressive, pro-Hamas and pro-Iran coalition. The destruction of Israel will not be enough for them. They want a global intifada. They burn American flags and shout to the Houthis, "make us proud and sink another ship."
Everything you are now doing to fight this racist madness will be for naught if you allow Iran's economy to recover. Failing to defeat Iran in the Middle East will result in a stronger and more destructive force across the Arab and Western world.
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It's not just Iran, Mr. President. It's also Qatar. It is the primary funder of the hate campaign on Ivy League campuses. If Qatar had invested in the Palestinians, the vast amounts of money it has given universities for their advocacy, all of the Palestinians would be living in big houses and owning farms or factories.
But the Palestinian flag is not in the service of the Palestinian people. It is in the service of progressives and Islamists. Qatar, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, is the source of the destructive ideology.
You could adopt isolationism, Mr. President. But it has not helped the United States in the past and will not help it now. It will only cause Sunni and Shiite Jihadism to grow. I would also remind you that the hate that is directed at Israel is directed at the United States first. You don't need sophisticated intelligence tools to see that. Just listen to the progressives and radical Islamists in their own voice.