Qatargate and the Trump Bear Hug

by Tzvi Moses, founder of the Shilo Institute, translated by Hillel Fendel.

The Trump-Netanyahu summit in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, this week was relatively successful, but not a few problems still remain unresolved. Trump's remarks about Erdogan and the Turks are worrisome, and though he spoke strongly of the need for Hamas to disarm "or else!" many things about it – such as who will do it, when, and how – still evade clear answers.

Trump's attitude towards Judea and Samaria, about which he acknowledged that he and Netanyahu do not agree 100% – "but I know he'll do the right thing" – is also of some concern. The same is true for Trump's approach to the Palestinian Authority in general. Netanyahu, for his part, did not look good [unsurprisingly, given the pressures he faces in the judicial, political, military and other spheres - ed.]. He looked pale and not confident, and the personal praises Trump heaped upon him - "There might not be an Israel right now if [it] had a different prime minister [other than Netanyahu]" - were a bit strange, and even pathetic. The same was true for the promise of a pardon for Netanyahu that Trump claimed to have received, which was immediately denied by the only man who can issue the problem, Israel's President Herzog. 

The bear hug given to Trump by the Israeli decision to grant Trump the Israeli Prize for Peace, and the profuse mutual compliments, actually made Netanyahu appear weak and dependent – as if he were a has-been hero who needs to be propped up by the great and mighty Trump.

On the other hand, it was comforting to see that politically and militarily, Israel's situation appears to be good, even if not 100% stable. The backing that Trump gave Netanyahu regarding Iran appears to be sufficient for now. 

But looming in the background is Qatargate – an absurd story that does not bode well for Israel's government. The story seems to be that three of Netanyahu's top media aides – Feldstein, Orich, and Einhorn – saw fit to give marketing and PR services to the State of Qatar. Their goal was apparently to help Qatar become the leading mediator in the talks with Hamas for the release of the hostages. It seems, however, that more than they helped Israel receive the hostages, they helped Hamas receive freedom for their own murderous terrorists from Israeli prisons. 

This is in addition to the fact that Qatar itself funded Hamas and enabled them to arm massively and build monstrous tunnels. Regarding such mediation as Qatar performed, it can be said, "Have you then murdered and also inherited?"

Netanyahu's main electoral rival Naftali Bennett is calling for the prime minister's aides to be sentenced to life imprisonment, for having apparently betrayed Israeli interests by sabotaging Israeli-Egyptian relations to the benefit of Qatar. The PM's office, and Netanyahu himself, truly appear to be on the ropes, beaten and battered. Diplomatically speaking, former Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer – who was very instrumental in attaining the release of the hostages and in receiving American support for the attack on Iran – is sorely missed. In general, the government does not appear to be functioning perfectly. With the Likud primaries coming up in the coming months, there do not seem to be many significant and serious party personalities ready for leadership positions. 

Netanyahu needs someone like Moses' father-in-law Jethro to advise him on delegating and sharing some of his authorities. It's time for Netanyahu to groom one or more successors; there are too many people in Israel who once served under Netanyahu and are now in the forefront of his opposition. 

The nationalist camp ought to shake off its long-held belief that without Netanyahu, the dictatorial left-wing will come to power. An unhealthy symbiosis has been created, wherein because of the right-wing's total dependence upon Netanyahu, he can use its fears to his advantage and receive its coddling almost unconditionally. The time has come for right-wingers to realize that this need not go on, especially in light of the rot that has taken root in his office and reached its climax in the very strange story of Qatargate. 

With the elections coming up some time in the next ten months, the right-wing would be well advised to rebuild itself, and encourage the many personalities that emerged, during and after the war, to lead. Instead of Qatargate, let this be a gate of opportunity to a new nationalist camp and a new future.

The Trump Spirit Upon Netanyahu

by Dr. Tzvi Moses, clinical psychologist, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Let Netanyahu work – and at the same time, let's tone down the internal dispute, rise up together, and let the special history of the Jewish Nation a chance to speak its part.

On the backdrop of Israel's renewed offensive in Gaza, the questions have again arisen as to what Netanyahu's ultimate strategy really is. The commentators offer up all sorts of ideas and scenarios, while his many detractors always like to link anything he does or doesn't do to a need of his to strengthen his coalition and survive politically as Prime Minister.

It could be, however, that this time, they are simply wrong. Netanyahu is taking inspiration and strength from Donald Trump, and he is actually very involved in what is best for the State of Israel. In fact, his achievements thus far seemed just a year ago to be nothing more than dream-like.

It is a given that with Trump in office, we stand before a seemingly one-time historic opportunity to fortify the State of Israel as a country that can stand alone on its own two feet in defending itself and its citizens.

Despite Israel's current strong dependency upon the United States, our goal is to accumulate sufficient strength so that we will be able to withstand a change of administrations in the U.S. and a new international balance of power among the superpowers.

Our recent hostage exchange deal with Hamas - in which we released some 1,700 prisoners, including 620 bona-fide terrorists and murderers - has left Israel in a very vulnerable position. The dangerous weakness that we have revealed leaves us open to unacceptable and impossible Hamas demands in exchange for all the remaining hostages, in a manner that endangers the existence of the State of Israel. Hamas is basically demanding a total end to the war, with American and United Nations guarantees that will stop Israel from completing the job of liquidating Hamas.

This is the real meaning of the proclamations made by the "Free the hostages at any price!" campaign and the protestors in Tel Aviv. A surrender of this sort would form, almost immediately, a regional chain reaction among all of our enemies. They would learn clearly that they no longer need nuclear weapons to destroy us. All they have to do is assemble a bunch of kidnapping cells in order to dismantle Israeli society from within and thus destroy our country.

The populistic chants of "First the hostages, then smash Hamas" have no validity or truth. If we try this approach, we will stand weakened and helpless against our enemies. We are all well aware that the plight of the hostages' families, and of course the hostages themselves, is indescribably horrific, and it is incumbent upon us all to add prayers that the relevant authorities break their heads to think out of the box and figure out how to free them. But the deal currently on the table is a terrible one, and we may not allow ourselves to agree to it as now formulated.

On the other hand, Israel is currently operating relatively intensively against Hamas, and is practicing a much more active and aggressive security policy in Lebanon, Syria, to be followed by the same against the Houthis and Iran. Trump's backing in the meantime is amazing, surpassing anything our great strategic commentators ever envisioned.

These anti-Netanyahu journalists are occasionally bewildered by his success, though they steadfastly refuse to eat their hats and admit their mistakes. They certainly would never actually praise him for what has been his cautious and correct managing of everything that is going on. They rather keep finding additional claims to file against Netanyahu and his nationalist government. Yes, they do have one justified point, which is that while most of those responsible for the colossal catastrophe of Oct. 7^th have either quit or been fired, only Netanyahu himself – where the buck of responsibility is supposed to stop – remains deeply entrenched in his political seat. But in the end – so what?

Though they and many others on the left claim that justice is the epitome of what is fair and good, they refuse to acknowledge that most of the charges against Netanyahu are fabricated for political reasons. The trial against him will go down in infamy for the State Prosecution and the left-wing camp. Apparently, for them, justice is relative. In any event, Mr. Netanyahu is currently the Prime Minister, and he happens to be running several particularly successful moves and processes. Israel's political and military situation is in a very different place than it was, and even our still-limping economy is showing positive signs of recovery.

At this point in time, Netanyahu is the most suitable man in the country to lead us for at least the first two years of Trump's term in office. After that there will be elections for the U.S. Congress, and then here as well, and the voters will choose whom they wish.

The Trump spirit that has inspired and enveloped Netanyahu has granted him a great measure of self-confidence – sometimes a bit too much – in his drive to actualize the right-wing dream of cleaning out the leftist stables. Not only in the U.S., but here in Israel too, over-leftistism has taken up occupancy, sometimes openly and sometimes undercover, in all areas: security, academia, and especially in the judiciary. To balance this out is in no way a revolution or insurgency, as the protestors like to scream. It is rather a necessary approach to balance out the leftism that has accompanied the Jewish presence in the Land of Israel since even before the establishment of the State.

In any event, what is required of both sides now is to enlist our strengths to tone down the internal dispute, rise above the situation together, and allow the special history of the Jewish Nation a chance to speak its part. Let us remind ourselves that the great Jewish spirit pulsates within Israel from Dan to Eilat.