Trump Says He Is Best US President for Israel, Jews

Former US President Donald Trump speaks in Washington in July 2022. (AFP)
Former US President Donald Trump speaks in Washington in July 2022. (AFP)
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Trump Says He Is Best US President for Israel, Jews

Former US President Donald Trump speaks in Washington in July 2022. (AFP)
Former US President Donald Trump speaks in Washington in July 2022. (AFP)

Former US President Donald Trump sparked debate in Israel and among American Jews after he criticized American Jews for what he argued was their insufficient praise of his policies toward Israel.

He also urged them to support him in the next presidential elections, stating that he was the “best” US president for Israel and the Jews.

“No President has done more for Israel than I have,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account before adding that it was somewhat surprising that “our wonderful Evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than the people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the United States.”

“Those living in Israel, though, are a different story,” Trump said, adding that he received there the “highest approval rating in the world,” and went on to say he could “easily be” elected a prime minister.

Trump then called on US Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they have in Israel “before it is too late!”

Several Jewish organizations slammed Trump’s remarks.

Head of the American Defamation League Jonathan Greenblatt accused Trump of “Jewsplaining.”

“We don’t need the former president, who curries favor with extremists and antisemites, to lecture us about the US-Israel relationship. It is not about a quid pro quo; it rests on shared values and security interests. This ‘Jewsplaining’ is insulting and disgusting,” he wrote.

“Support for the Jewish state never gives one license to lecture American Jews, nor does it ever give the right to draw baseless judgments about the ties between US Jews and Israel,” the American Jewish Committee tweeted. “And to be clear, those ties are strong and enduring.”

The Jewish Democratic Council of America similarly lambasted Trump’s remarks.

“American Jews got their act together in 2020, when 77% supported Biden. This won’t change because Jews view Trump and ‘Make America Great Again’ candidates as extremist-aligned threats to our security, democracy and values, as epitomized by this antisemitic screed,” tweeted Halie Soifer, head of the Jewish Democratic Council of America. “This has nothing to do with Israel.”

Politicians in Israel refrained from explicitly commenting, but Israeli media reported that Trump's statement was “embarrassing to Israel.”

According to Haaretz newspaper, Israeli officials fear the consequences of these negative statements “because they encourage forces hostile to Israel and Jews to justify their hostility, promote a boycott of Israel and carry out antisemitic attacks on Jews.”



Western Countries Urge Iran to Immediately Dispose of its Highly Enriched Stockpile

IAEA head Rafael Grossi
IAEA head Rafael Grossi
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Western Countries Urge Iran to Immediately Dispose of its Highly Enriched Stockpile

IAEA head Rafael Grossi
IAEA head Rafael Grossi

While the United Kingdom, France and Germany on Thursday urged Iran to immediately dispose of its stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60 %, the UN atomic watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution ordering Tehran to urgently improve cooperation with the Agency.

In a joint statement to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors on Iran’s implementation of its nuclear commitments under the JCPoA, France, Germany and the United Kingdom on Thursday called on Iran to halt and reverse its nuclear escalation and refrain from making threats to produce nuclear weapons.

The three countries asked Tehran to return to the limits imposed by the JCPoA, in particular those regarding enrichment.

They said Iran should allow the Agency to install surveillance and monitoring equipment where requested, re-implement and swiftly ratify its Additional Protocol and fully reverse its September 2023 decision to withdraw the designations of experienced inspectors.

On Thursday, the UN atomic watchdog’s 35-nation Board of Governors passed a resolution again ordering Iran to urgently improve cooperation with the Agency and requesting a “comprehensive” report aimed at pressuring Iran into fresh nuclear talks.

The resolution was proposed by Britain, France, Germany and the United States.

Seen by AFP, it says it is “essential and urgent” for Iran to “act to fulfil its legal obligations.”

The text also calls on Tehran to provide “technically credible explanations” for the presence of uranium particles found at two undeclared locations in Iran.

Moreover, Western powers are asking for a “comprehensive report” to be issued by the IAEA on Iran's nuclear efforts “at the latest” by spring 2025.

No Peaceful Purpose

Meanwhile, Washington's delegation to the Board of Governors said in a press release that “Iran has already amassed a substantial stockpile of highly enriched uranium for which it has no credible peaceful purpose.”

It noted that if Iran is interested in demonstrating the exclusively peaceful nature of its nuclear program, it should do much more than take easily reversible steps.

“It should provide greater assurance, including resuming implementation of the Additional Protocol, and provide full transparency regarding centrifuge component production,” the delegation said in a statement.

Since 2021, Tehran has significantly decreased its cooperation with the agency by deactivating surveillance devices to monitor the nuclear programme and barring UN inspectors.

At the same time, Iran has rapidly ramped up its nuclear activities, including by increasing its stockpiles of enriched uranium.

That has heightened fears that Tehran might be seeking to develop a nuclear weapon, which it denies.

The resolution comes just as IAEA head Rafael Grossi returned from a trip to Tehran last week, where he appeared to have made headway.

During the visit, Iran agreed to an IAEA demand to cap its sensitive stock of near weapons-grade uranium enriched up to 60% purity.

“This is a concrete step in the right direction,” Grossi told reporters Wednesday, saying it was “the first time” Iran had made such a commitment since it started breaking away from its obligations under the nuclear deal.

EU Warnings

The European Union on Thursday warned that Iran had deviated from its commitments under the nuclear deal and has sharply increased its stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60%, a level with significant proliferation risks and no credible civilian justification.

In a statement delivered during the IAEA Board of Governors meeting, the EU emphasized that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons remains a critical security priority.

The EU urged all nations to support the implementation of Resolution 2231, which underpins the IAEA’s monitoring and verification of Iran’s nuclear program.

It then expressed regret over Iran’s failure to return to its nuclear-related JCPOA commitments, which has led to significant nuclear advancements over the past five years.

These actions, the EU noted, have heightened the risk of nuclear proliferation in the region.

In return, Iran warned on Thursday that the resolution tabled by Western countries to censure Iran’s nuclear program at the International Atomic Energy Agency “will weaken and disrupt” interactions between the UN body and Tehran.

“This inappropriate action of the three European countries to issue a resolution against Iran will only weaken and disrupt interactive processes between the agency and Iran,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a statement carried by the foreign ministry.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs Kazem Gharibabadi said on X on Wednesday that the three European countries were using the IAEA as a “political tool.”