Just a few weeks ago, I wrote an article titled “Still The Best,” in which I extolled President Trump as being the best president for Israel despite his four-lettered conversation with Bibi Netanyahu. I still maintain that today, but admittedly, it is a lot harder to express, given the Memorandum of Understanding just signed with Tehran.
The MOU, as it is known, seems to be a complete capitulation to the Iranians. It calls for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, something that had been done before the war; the release of $300 billion in frozen assets; plus more in grants. This gives the Iranians the ability to regroup and helps get them back to where they were before the war. That includes rearming their terrorist proxies. No wonder the Iranians view themselves as victors. They are. They received a windfall of money and found out that they have the ability to control the US and the rest of the world by blockading the Strait at will.
For good measure, it states that Iran reaffirms its commitment not to build a nuclear weapon, as though its original affirmation was strictly adhered to. Also, it does accept the presence of ballistic missiles. It does not say anything specific about not funding their terrorist proxies.
Most notably irritating to the Israelis, it calls for a ceasefire in Lebanon, despite the daily aggression of Hezbollah. President Trump absolutely threw Netanyahu under the bus. He may have indeed killed his political career.
On top of that, Trump accused Netanyahu of being bloodthirsty by blowing up buildings in Beirut that were occupied not only by Hezbollah. JD Vance went a step further by saying Netanyahu believes you can get yourself out of problems by killing your way out. He also excoriated Netanyahu’s coalition for being critical of the Memorandum. “Remember, you have only one supporter left in this world, and that’s Donald Trump,” so don’t go about messing with him. That drove Fox host Brian Kilmeade to comment, “I wish he would be that tough with Iran.”
It seems like Trump has flipped the script, as did so many others, like Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson, and Megyn Kelly. I sure hope not.
I have read articles by many pundits and rabbinic commentators who claim that Trump actually did us a favor. We have now come to realize that which we say in our daily davening, “Al tivt’chu bi’nedivim (Put not your faith in noblemen).” In addition, it brings home the saying of Chazal, “Ein lanu al mi l’hisha’ein ela al Avinu she’baShamayim” (We have no one else to rely upon except our Father in Heaven.”
That may be an important takeaway, but I don’t think it’s comforting to know that we are left with no one on Earth upon whom we can rely.
While I live under no illusion that this “deal” is something good for the United States, Israel, or the Jews, I think we need to take a step backward. There is that chance, although remote, that this MOU may prove to be something worthwhile after all. The understanding is contingent on the Iranians proving themselves to be true to the agreement. We all know that is a big joke.
But if we can trust Trump to be different from his predecessors, which he was until now, then maybe, just maybe, Iran will finally be exposed as the frauds that they are. And no number of deals will be worth making with them.
That’s a big “if,” as we all know that what drove Trump to come up with this agreement was domestic political calculations having to do with his popularity and the midterm elections.
I know that’s small comfort for those of us who are in Israel’s camp, but it’s the only straw I can think of holding onto at this time. Other than that, this deal is truly a nightmare. It especially hurts when coming from a good friend.
Rabbi Yoel Schonfeld is the Rabbi Emeritus of the Young Israel of Kew Gardens Hills, President of the Coalition for Jewish Values, former President of the Vaad Harabonim of Queens, and the Rabbinic Consultant for the Queens Jewish Link.
