PAGE 10A HERITAGE FLORIDA JEWISH NEWS, FEBRUARY 24, 2017
Andrew Harrer/Pool/Getty Images
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (1) and President Donald Trump in the Oval
Office of the White House, Feb. 15, 2017.
By Ron Kampeas
WASHINGTON (JTA)--One
state. Flexibility. Two states.
Hold back on settlements.
Stop Iran.
When President Donald
Trump met Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu: What
a press conference!
But wait.
In the Age of Trump, every
post-event analysis requires a
double take. Not so much "did
he mean what he said?"--he
appears to mean it, in real
time--but "will he mean it
next week? Tomorrow? In the
wee hours, when he tweets?"
This is a president who,
after all, speaks of a "ban"
on travelers from Muslim-
majority countries and then
deploys his spokesmen to
insist there is no ban, and
by the way, don't mention
Muslims either.
So what can we take away
from Wednesday's Netanyahu-
Trump summit?
A lot. Trump's interlocutor
on Wednesday, Netanyahu,
has a more evolved reputation
for consistency--indeed,
for coherence. And despite
his renowned capacity for
peregrinations of thought,
Trump offered enough
substance in his remarks--
for instance, confirming
a pivot in U.S. policy away
from an emphasis on a two-
state solution as an outcome
to Israeli-Palestinian peace
talks.
So, with considerable
trepidation, we venture into
Wednesday's summit.
One state, two states
At first blush, Trump
appeared to headily embrace
the prospect of one state--
although it's not clear what
kind of single state he meant.
Would Palestinians in the
West Bank be enfranchised?
Comb through what he
said, and his departure from
the policies of his three
predecessors was indeed
substantive, but not
necessarily radical.
"SO I'm looking at two-state
and one-state, and I like the
A 'Tweet' day with Federation's Shalom Families
Eighty-five dads, moms
and children joined PJ Library
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'Tweet'TuB'shevat Celebration"
at the Audubon Center for
Birds of Prey in Maitland.
It was the perfect day and
perfect venue to celebrate
Tu B'Shevat and Shabbat
Shira! Families participated
in a scavenger hunt/bird walk,
planted pea seedlings, and
made birdhouses, bird feeders,
delicious almond "trees" and
more.
PJ Library Orlando/Shalom
Families is a program of the
Jewish Federation of Greater
Orlando.
The next PJ Library
Orlando/Shalom Families
program, "Rain and Mud!
An Early Spring & Passover
Celebration" is set for Sunday,
March 19, at Shady Park in
Winter Park. Visit www.jfgo.
org for details.
Enjoying Tu B'Shevat at Brookdale Island Lake
Jared Weiss with Pearl Bernstein.
Warren Smyley with Debbie Meitin.
Tu B'Shevat Shabbat programs were held at various senior
living communities earlier this month to welcome the
upcoming spring harvest and celebrate the new year of the
trees. Friends, residents and volunteers enjoyed the fruits to
symbolize the seven species. Some older adults are not familiar
with the holiday of Tu B'Shevat but enjoy learning about it
and tasting the sweet treats. The fifth graders of Congregation
Ohev Shalom presented a skit to the residents at Brookdale
Island Lake in Longwood about the holiday including beautiful
songs and poems.
Visit jewishpavilion.org for the upcoming Purim schedule
at dozens of senior living communities or call 407-678-9363.
one that both parties like," he
said, as Netanyahu chortled.
"I'm very happy with the
one that both parties like.
I can live with either one,"
Trump said. "I thought for a
while the two-state looked like
it may be the easier of the two.
But honestly, if Bibi and if the
Palestinians--if Israel and the
Palestinians are happy, I'm
happy with the one they like
the best."
Trump is not endorsing a
single state--he's kicking it
back to the parties: Figure
it out, Trump says. Trump's
three predecessors have also
said that the final status
must be determined by the
Israelis and the Palestinians,
but also have made clear that
the only workable outcome is
two states.
What's the difference?
Netanyahu, in his remarks
and briefing Israeli reporters
after his three-hour summit
with Trump, indicated that
the difference is leverage for
Israel: If the Palestinians want
their own state, it must adhere
to Israel's terms.
Netanyahu has always said
that he believes a Palestinian
state should recognize Israel
as a Jewish state, and that it
must be demilitarized and
accept Israeli security control
of the West Bank. Until now,
those were his preferred
outcomes. On Wednesday, he
attached a new descriptor to
those terms: "prerequisites."
That leaves little wiggle room
for the Palestinians.
The Israeli leader, notably,
also did not use the term
"two states" and refused to
afterward in his briefing with
reporters. Netanyahu said
instead that others, including
former Vice President Joe
Biden, have cautioned him
that a state deprived of
security control is less than
a state. Instead of pushing
back against the argument,
he said it was a legitimate
interpretation, but not the
only one.
That relieves pressure from
Netanyahu's right flank in
Israel, which has pressed him
to seize the transition from
the Obama administration--
which insisted on two states
and an end to settlement--to
the Trump administration
and expand settlement.
Now he can go home and
say, truthfully, that he has
removed "two states" from
the vocabulary.
The kid in the candy
shop
Netanyahu was like the
proverbial kid in the candy
shop: He couldn't have
made clearer his relief at the
departure of President Barack
Obama.
"I think that's a change
that is clearly evident since
President Trump took office,"
Netanyahu said at the joint
press conference, referring to
Trump's tough talk on Iran. "I
welcome that. I think it's--let
me say this very openly--I
think it's long overdue."
And not just regarding
Iran. Whereas with Obama,
Netanyahu would insist
peace talks must take place
without preconditions,
he was now talking about
"prerequisites for peace" with
the Palestinians.
Trump, to Netanyahu's
evident pleasure, embraced
one of the Israeli's favorite
causes: Palestinian
incitement. Obama had also
routinely mentioned the
issue, but Trump made ending
incitement his front and
center expectation of the
Palestinians, and described it
in the dark terms Netanyahu
favors.
"I think the Palestinians
have to get rid of some of that
hate that they're taught from
a very young age," he said.
"They're taught tremendous
hate."
Netanyahu told Israeli
reporters that he also asked
Trump to recognize the Golan
Heights as Israeli territory,
a request that would have
been politely ignored had he
raised it with any of Trump's
predecessors. He was clearly
hopeful about his prospects
with Trump; the presidentwas
"not shocked" by the request,
Netanyahu said.
Beware the candyman:
What does Donald want
in return?
"I'd like to see you hold back
on settlements for a little bit,"
Trump told Netanyahu."We'll
work something out."
Netanyahu appeared
shocked. Trump asked
Netanyahu for a temporary
settlement freeze, the kind
of request that when Obama
made it sentNetanyahuandhis
government into paroxysms
of resistance. (Netanyahu
insisted to reporters later
that his shocked reaction
was a put-on--he said it was
a page out of Trump's bible
for realtors, "The Art of the
Deal," but he did not explain
how looking caught off guard
helped him.)
Netanyahu did another
double take when Trump said,
referring to his hopes for a
comprehensive peace with the
Palestinians and with Israel's
Arab neighbors, that "it might
be a bigger and better deal
than people in this room even
understand."
Netanyahu, notoriously
cautious and small-bore in
how he approaches diplomacy,
did not seem enthusiastic.
"Let's try it," he muttered.
Trump noticed: "Doesn't
sound too optimistic," he said
to laughter.
Those snapshots of
a nonplussed Netanyahu
illustrated the Israeli leader's
conundrum: He is throwing
all-in with Trump.
"There is no greater
supporter of the Jewish people
and the Jewish state than
President Donald Trump," he
said of a president who has
never visited Israel. But that
very closeness binds him: How
can he reject the entreaties of
"no greater supporter"ofIsrael?
The request to stay
settlement building, to go for
the big deal, one that Trump
saidwould likely require Israel
to "show more flexibility than
they have in the past'--what
could that mean further down
the line? Trump's proven
characteristics include a
capacity for unpredictability,
a demand for deference and a
love of disruption.
Mix those qualities with
talk of one state and "greater
flexibility," and the prospects
of what Trump demands
from Israel are more open-
ended than with any previous
president--for better or
worse.
Specifics?
Lots of tough talk at the
press conference.
Trump on page 15A
