By Sal Bommarito
If you were the Prime Minister of Israel, which American presidential candidate would you support? The Israeli government and PM Netanyahu have not overtly endorsed either Clinton or Trump to this point in an effort to hedge their bets.
One newspaper has attempted to minimize the damage President Obama has done to the U.S./Israeli relationship during his tenure. A Clinton victory would likely result in continued stress between the two countries, as she would surely embrace Obama’s contentious policies related to Israel.
The U.S. has never stopped supporting Israel militarily and recently offered the Jewish State $38 billion of military aid over the next ten years. Some think the timing of the aid package is connected to Obama’s relentless search for legacy opportunities and perhaps a project to keep him busy after he leaves office. There is no chance that Israel would agree to the latter.
Netanyahu has grappled with Obama for eight years. The Iran nuclear deal was a slap in the face. In response the PM overtly and aggressively attacked Obama by decrying his actions in a dramatic United Nations speech and during a presentation to a joint session of Congress outlining new risks to Israel’s sovereignty.
Besides endorsing a plan that allows Iran to produce nuclear arms, Obama has repeatedly harped upon the new settlement policy of Israel. The construction of new outposts in strategic locations is critical to Israel’s security. Often times Netanyahu has wondered whether Obama sides with Palestine after 60 years of support from America.
Many experts predict that, if elected, Clinton will adopt the same positions as Obama on key issues relating to Israel. The former Secretary of State was a party to the Iran deal. Israel continues to believe the agreement is creating an existential threat to the country.
Clinton will jump on the two-state bandwagon if she is successful in November and will insist that Israel cease to build new settlements.
And Clinton will push Netanyahu to negotiate with parties that are calling for the destruction of Israel.
It should be noted that the Clinton Foundation has allegedly received substantial donations from Arab countries, which could influence Hillary Clinton as president in matters relating to Israel.
Donald Trump has pledged to support Israel at every opportunity as almost all presidents have done historically. He will be able to establish a rapport with Netanyahu who often times is as mercurial as he is. And Trump will assist Israel in its long-term fight for survival.
I’ll bet the people of Israel and Netanyahu are huge supporters of the Trump candidacy.