Zev Chafets, Columnist

Why Trump’s Plan Is Proving a Hard Sell in Israel

Israelis love Trump’s offer. But petty rivalries and distrust mean Benjamin Netanyahu is struggling to win support for it.

February 10, 2020 at 9:46 AM UTC

By Zev Chafets

Zev Chafets is a journalist and author of 14 books. He was a senior aide to Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin and the founding managing editor of the Jerusalem Report Magazine.

Not such an easy sell at home.
Photographer: MANDEL NGAN/AFP

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

This article is for subscribers only.

When Benjamin Netanyahu stood on the podium next to Donald Trump and proclaimed the Deal of the Century to be comparable to the 1948 Declaration of Independence, the Israeli prime minister knew there would be strong opposition from the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the Arab League, the European Union and other supporters of the Palestinian cause. He didn’t think there would be opposition back home.

Netanyahu knew Trump had his back; and so, he believed, did the Israeli public. Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White party, was on board with the plan, along with a plurality of his center-left party supporters. Add Bibi's right wing, orthodox bloc to Gantz's secular, upper middle class liberals and you get a nearly wall-to-wall consensus.