Israel needs to make its own policies clear before getting Trump on board, Yesha Council chair Yisrael Ganz told JNS.
(JNS)
A host of Israeli politicians descended on Washington, D.C., for U.S. President Donald Trump’s inauguration, looking to push for stronger American support, particularly when it comes to the White House’s policies on Judea and Samaria.
Members of Knesset Simcha Rothman and Ohad Tal—both of the Religious Zionism party—were joined in Washington by Israel Ganz, chair of the Yesha Council and head of the Binyamin Regional Council, and Yossi Dagan, head of the Shomron Regional Council.
All live in Judea and Samaria, outside of Israel’s internationally-recognized borders.
“It was amazing to come to the inauguration, after a few years of war, with the incoming administration. We host many of them in Binyamin, in Judea and Samaria,” Ganz told JNS on Tuesday. “We visited here many times to see here the people that have a deep connection to the state of Israel, to Judea and Samaria. They understand who is good and who is bad, and they are so connected to our roots.”
Ganz expressed his disappointment with the outgoing administration of former U.S. President Joe Biden, who he said “didn’t speak with us. They were instead talking about us. And today we have this administration with deep connections. They speak with us. And I think it will build a better Middle East.”
Dagan told JNS that he is excited about the Shomron Regional Council’s involvement with the new official caucus for Judea and Samaria, with some 20 members of Congress, including Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.).
“This is the first time there has been in this building, in Congress in Washington, a caucus of this kind, and it is in line with the new spirit of the change from the administration that was so hostile to Judea and Samaria, and in many ways to the state of Israel, to a friendly administration, a positive administration,” Dagan said.
He added that the Trump transition, which he called an “historic juncture,” affords the Israeli government “opportunities, not because the new administration will always agree but rather because it won’t fight us the way Biden would.”
Ganz, Dagan and Rothman all indicated that they were not lobbying for particular policies about Judea and Samaria but instead to improve Israel’s standing and positioning broadly, which they believe will give the government in Jerusalem the freedom to make the right decisions.
Dagan and his team were in Washington, he said, “to explain, to persuade, to build coalitions and connections, to reduce the pressures. But the ball is in Jerusalem, with the prime minister and government ministers. This is the time for historic things.”
Trump is a businessman who wants “very fast action and decision,” Ganz said.
But “the State of Israel didn’t make a decision for 15 years about Judea and Samaria, and in my eyes, this built all the terrorists we are facing right now,” Ganz told JNS. “I think we have to build a different situation in Judea and Samaria. I’m working hard to make this change, applying sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and bringing someone very strong that can help to manage the Palestinian life, but without terror.”
Rothman told JNS that he was thrilled to see outward support for Israel, not just in the halls of power but all over Washington.
“I see it from all around, not only from the Republican Party, not only for Trump supporters or the people he appointed, but also from the Democratic Party and also for the people in the street,” he said.
When one walks the streets with a yellow hostage pin, “and people understand that you are Israeli, they come to you, they tell you how much they love Israel,” he said.
Rothstein wasn’t concerned about a growing concern on the political right that Trump will try to pressure the Israeli government to accept a Palestinian state in exchange for normalization with Saudi Arabia, as he did to get a ceasefire deal with Hamas done. It’s up to Israel to set clear parameters first, giving Trump a path to follow, he said.
The ceasefire pact, which is supposed to free all remaining Israeli hostages, also includes releasing hundreds of Palestinian security prisoners, many of whom are being sent to Judea and Samaria and many with blood on their hands.
“The second Israel defines for itself what are its goals, I believe President Trump is committed to the safety of Israel, to the alliance with Israel,” Rothman said. “He understands the importance that this is the war that we need to win, against terror, against Hamas, against Iran. He understands the issues, and I’m sure he will support the efforts of the state of Israel to be secure and safe in the Middle East.”
That started, Ganz said, on the first day of Trump’s new tenure, when he signed an executive order lifting Biden-imposed sanctions on Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria, and other entities located in the territory, for allegedly committing violent acts against Palestinians or disturbing peaceful relations.
At least two of the residents were found to be U.S. citizens, rendering them ineligible for sanctions, and leaving critics of Biden wondering aloud how much vetting the outgoing administration did in levying the sanctions. (Some sued the Biden administration.)
“I couldn’t understand these sanctions, because to sanction someone without a hearing, without a sentence, you didn’t check,” Ganz said. “They said it’s about violence, but they sanctioned movements, organizations, NGOs, and people that I know, from a personal side, are not violent. I couldn’t understand.”
“I think President Trump made justice,” he said.
Image: Courtesy JNS Article
