Trump's Position on Israel

The Problem with Palestine (Or: The Issue with Israel)

            Ever since the end of WW2, when the British Mandate ended, the Jews and Muslims have been arguing over the claim to the territory. The city, which is a holy site for all three of the Abrahamic religions, has been a hotbed of both political and religious tension. And Donald Trump made it 100x worse.

            Trump, in a move that is both expected and unexpected, officially declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, siding with the Jewish population, while at the same time, denouncing any claims of the Palestinians. Trump broke from the tradition that has been set since Truman, which is to take no stance either way. Trump’s declaration, while not legally binding, still hurts our foreign relations; Palestine will be far less willing to negotiate anything with a country that outright denies their claims, and if the U.S. tries to help solve the “issue” of what belongs to who, then Palestine will obviously find fault with the decision.

            It can also be considered a method by which Trump gauged how foreign leaders saw him; only eight other countries at the U.N. agreed with the United States’ decision to take an official stance on Israel, where the remainder chose either to go against the U.S., or abstain. Also, Trump’s decision can be turned into propaganda by people like ISIS, who always seem to jump up at an opportunity to turn something into propaganda.

            I know what the obvious answer is; let the Israelis and the Palestinians sort this out. Neither side will truly accept any sort of “answer” unless they both agree on something, and having an outsider like Trump coming in to give his opinion, when no one asked for it, only causes more trouble, not to mention that Trump partly did it to pander to the religious conservatives in his own base. Trump choosing a side the way he did shows an obvious favoritism for Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israelis over the Palestinians; a favoritism that will make any peace negotiations involving the U.S. a point in futility. It would also cause harm to the Iran deal, due to the relationship between Palestine and Iran being more resisting towards U.S. involvement. Trump also threatened to cut aid to any countries that went against them in the U.N. vote, further showing Trump’s inability to behave in a way that is proper of the role of Commander in Chief.