May 30,2017 – JORDAN TIMES – Ramzy Baroud
As if he had, overnight, been transformed into a master politician, US President Donald Trump’s 27-hour trip to Israel left many analysts mystified.
Quoting former Israeli political adviser Mitchell Barack, The New York Times referred to Trump as the “Liberace of world leaders”, in reference to the flamboyant piano player Wladziu Valentino Liberace.
The latter, known as “Mr Showmanship”, was, at times, the highest paid entertainer in the world; his successful career lasted over four decades.
New York Magazine Online quoted former US ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro, who was also trying to decipher the supposedly complicated Trump persona.
“Either Trump’s visit was substance-free — or he is being uncharacteristically subtle in planting the seeds for new round of peace negotiations,” NYmag quoted and paraphrased Shapiro’s tweets.
“Liberal” US media, which stooped to many lows in their attacks on Trump — including his family, his mannerism, his choice of words and body language — became much more sober and quite respectful in the way they attempted to analyse his short trip to Israel, and the very brief detour to Bethlehem, where he met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
“Mr Trump’s speech at the Israeli Museum was so friendly and considerate of Israeli emotions,” reported The New Your Times, “that one right-wing Israeli legislator described it as deeply expressive of the ‘Zionist narrative’”.
Palestinian emotions, however, were of no consequence, neither to the Trump entourage nor, of course, to the New York Times or others in mainstream media.
The Washington Post still found faults, but certainly not because of Trump’s lack of balance and his failure to criticise the Israeli occupation and Israel’s mistreatment of Palestinians.
Despite the fact that Trump has indeed fully embraced the “Zionist narrative”, and a rightwing version of it (for example, he made no reference to a Palestinian state), he still fell short, in Israeli eyes.
His performance at Israel’s national Holocaust Memorial (Yad Vashem) did not impress.
Max Bearak wrote in the Post: “Trump’s entry in the guest book at Israel’s National Holocaust Memorial was strangely upbeat, self-referential and written in his signature all caps: ‘IT IS A GREAT HONOUR TO BE HERE WITH ALL OF MY FRIENDS — SO AMAZING & WILL NEVER FORGET’!”
Categories: Israel, Palestine, The Muslim Times, United States, USA