Top 10 Things Trump Did for Israel (part 2)
Many accomplishments on the list are not widely known.
By Nosson Shulman: Licensed Tour Guide of VIP Israel Tours & Authentic Virtual Tours (click here to check out his free trailer videos)
In part 1, we saw the first 5 of the top 10 reasons many consider Donald Trump to be the most Pro-Israel President in history. We continue with the next top 5 Things Trump Did for Israel:
5) Vetoed every Anti-Israel bill in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)
Since the US vetoed its first UNSC anti-Israel resolution in September 1972, it has done so for the majority of subsequent UNSC anti-Israel measures. The UNSC once again introduced a discriminatory resolution (2334) in December 2016, during the final days of the Obama administration and following the election of Donald Trump. It called for the cessation of Jewish construction in biblical Judea and Samaria (also known as the West Bank) and East Jerusalem, condemned all Israeli construction in these areas as unlawful under international law, and called for the labeling of all products made in the settlements as not being Israeli-made (even labeling Jewish holy sites like the Western Wall as Palestinian). In a significant betrayal of Israel, the Obama administration abstained from vetoing the resolution, resulting in the antisemitic bill passing 14-0, the first time the US has allowed such a resolution to pass in 36 years. Despite Senegal, Venezuela, and Malaysia having formally introduced the resolution, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that he had no doubt the Obama administration was the one who initiated it. He even told then-Secretary of State John Kerry directly that “friends don’t take friends to the Security Council.”
On hearing this, Donald Trump was livid, tweeting “We cannot continue to let Israel be treated with such total disdain and disrespect. They used to have a great friend in the U.S., but not anymore. The beginning of the end was the horrible Iran deal, and now this (U.N.)! Stay strong Israel, 20 January is fast approaching!”. True to this word, during the Trump administration, all anti-Israel UNSC resolutions without exception were vetoed by the US unconditionally and without concessions (the one anti-Israel resolution that the Obama administration had vetoed in 2011, was done only with Israeli concessions).
In April 2017, when the United States assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council (the presidency rotates on a monthly basis), the Trump Administration’s US Ambassador to the UN, Nicky Haley, announced that during her tenure, the focus would be on Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran’s support for terrorism, and real human rights issues around the world that had been ignored due to the UNSC’s obsession with Israel. She also stated she would not allow the bullying of Israel by the UN to continue.
The Biden-Harris administration regrettably followed Obama’s example in March 2024 by once again abstaining from an anti-Israel resolution, allowing it to pass and harming US-Israel ties. A high-level delegation visit to the White House was subsequently canceled by Prime Minister Netanyahu in protest. In recent interviews, presidential candidate Kamala Harris has publicly said that she would not alter a single action taken by Joe Biden.
4) Leaving the disastrous Iran Nuclear Deal and Bringing Iran close to bankruptcy
Notwithstanding the fierce opposition of Israel, almost all Republicans, and even a large number of Democratic Senators and Congressmen, then-President Obama introduced and signed the Iran Nuclear Agreement, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2015. This agreement is arguably the worst international accord in history. Iran had a sweetheart deal in which they received $100 billion US in Iranian assets in foreign banks that were unfrozen, many crippling trade sanctions were lifted, allowing Iran to secure extremely profitable and beneficial trade deals (particularly with Europe), and their ballistic missile program and funding of terrorism and other destabilizing activities in the region were left unrestricted. In return Iran, openly promising to wipe Israel off the map multiple times, was supposed to limit their uranium enrichment temporarily, a key process used in making a nuclear weapon, with many of the restrictions expiring in 2025. By 2030, Iran would be free to expand enrichment to an industrial scale, leaving them the ability to develop nuclear weapons after the “sunset” of these clauses. Theoretically, the International Atomic Energy (IAEA) inspectors were supposed to have unlimited access to Iranian nuclear facilities, but oddly, the agreement did not allow for “anytime, anywhere” inspections. In case the IAEA suspected non-compliance, Iran had 24 days to allow inspection (more than enough time to hide their activities). However, in practice, requests sometimes took more than 6 months. In addition, Iran declared many of their military sites entirely off limits to inspectors. The agreement also required Iran to disclose to the IAEA all military components of its nuclear program. Despite their assurances to the Obama administration that their nuclear program was solely for peaceful and civilian uses, papers seized from Iran during a bold Mossad raid demonstrated that they had been lying. To put it briefly, this agreement put the Jewish State and the entire west at risk.
In 2018, President Donald Trump fulfilled his campaign pledge by withdrawing from the deal and reimposing severe sanctions, bringing Iran to its knees. Iran went from having at least 128 billion USD in foreign reserve funds at the start of Trump’s presidency to having barely 4 billion USD remaining at its end. Iran could no longer afford to fund most of Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), and Hamas activities, resulting in the firing of most of the terrorists on its payrolls.
Unfortunately, the Biden-Harris administration made every effort to get Iran to re-engage in the agreement at the start of the presidency but Iran has refused any offer thus far. They loosened restrictions on Iran’s oil trade, which generated between February 21, 2021, and November 7, 2023, an estimated 88 billion to 98 billion USD in revenue, and they unfrozen 16 billion dollars in Iranian assets. Iran’s backing of terrorism suddenly intensified. For example, Hamas went from getting around 100 million USD per year to 350 million USD per year by October 7, 2023, when they carried out the bloodiest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. While the motivation for Hezbollah, PIJ, and Hamas to wage war on Israel would have existed regardless of who was president, without Iranian funding, it is difficult to imagine how the terrorist organizations could have afforded to fight the war, which continues well over a year later.
3) Official declaring that Jewish building in Judea and Samaria is NOT a violation of international law
Judea and Samaria, often known as the West Bank, are the biblical heartland of the Jewish people. This area contains 80% of the sites mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, including Bethel, Hebron, Jerusalem, Shiloh, Jericho, Bethlehem and Rachel’s Tomb, Mount Gerizim, Mount Ebal, Anathoth, Maale Adumim, Karmei Tzur, Beth-Horon, Joseph’s Tomb, Mizpeh and Samuel’s Tomb, the Cave of the Patriarchs, the City of David, and many other locations. Jews are indigenous to this land and have lived here for millennia prior to the arrival of Islam, which conquered and colonized Israel in 640 CE. Unfortunately, in international forms and among unelected bureaucrats in the US State Department, many people wrongly refer to Jews who choose to settle in their ancestral homelands as occupiers and impediments to the peace process. Since Jimmy Carter’s presidency, US policy has largely been that Israeli Settlements are inconsistent with international laws. In 2019, Trump’s Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reversed decades of US policy by declaring that the US no longer considers settlements illegal according to International Law.
Unfortunately, Biden’s Secretary of State Antony Blinken reversed Trump’s decision in February 2024, declaring Israeli settlements to be “illegitimate under international law.” It is expected that Trump will quickly restore his policy if re-elected President.
2) The Taylor Force Act cuts off funding and aid to the Palestinian Authority until they stop funding terrorism.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) is a well known kleptocracy, a system where corrupt politicians enrich themselves secretly outside the rule of law, through kickbacks, bribes, and special favors from lobbyists and corporations, or they simply direct state funds to themselves and their associates. The PA receives between 30 and 60 percent of its funding from foreign aid, although it is difficult to pinpoint the precise amount because of their questionable bookkeeping. Many Palestinians suffer because so little of the very generous foreign aid designated for medical treatment, clean water access, food security, agriculture, and education actually reaches its intended recipient. Yet one thing the PA always has money for is its Palestinian Authority Martyrs Fund, better known as pay to slay, which allocates monthly salaries and benefits to imprisoned and released terrorists, and the families of “Martyrs” who died while committing acts of terrorism such as suicide bombings. The longer the term and the more Jews murdered, the more money they receive. The families of a Palestinian serving the longest sentences possibly make approximately 10 times what a Palestinian police officer receives. Such promises greatly incentivize terrorism in a society that does not provide many opportunities for its citizens. The program distributes approximately $300 million annually to terrorists.
President Trump signed the Taylor Force Act into law in 2018, making it illegal for the US to continue paying the PA as long as it continues its violent pay-to-slay operation. Following its passage, the US cut off hundreds of millions of dollars in financing for the Palestinians.
1) Moving the Embassy to Jerusalem
If you ask anyone what Donald Trump’s most important move with Israel was, they’ll probably say that it was transferring the US embassy to Jerusalem, a fulfillment of his campaign promise. He was not the first candidate to make such a pledge, though. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton both promised to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. But neither fulfilled their campaign pledge. Barack Obama, who was then running for president, stated in an address to AIPAC in 2008 “I continue to say that Jerusalem will be the capital of Israel. I have said it before and will say it again.” Nonetheless, the embassy stayed in Tel Aviv for his eight-year rule.
On May 14, 2018, Donald Trump officially moved the embassy to Jerusalem, Israel’s eternal capital. Since then, as reported here, many countries have followed suit.
This week’s news article was sponsored by Scripture In Picture: How the Bible predicted the Assassination attempt on President Donald Trump and how YOU can help keep him and your family safe with the divine protection of Scripture!
To sponsor our next article or newsletter and have your business seen by thousands of our American pro-Israel subscribers and beyond, please contact us at info@guidedtoursofisrael.com
Nosson Shulman is a journalist and Licensed Tour Guide in Israel specializing in Biblical tours. To allow tourists to experience Israel during the Corona era, he created the new hit Israel tour video series which brings Israel to the home of viewers by simulating actual tours. To check out his free sneak preview tour videos, click here. To view sample tour itineraries or to inquire about private tour opportunities with a personalized itinerary on your next trip to Israel, click here.
The post Top 10 Things Trump Did for Israel (part 2) appeared first on Israel365 News.
Israel in the News
