Reactions, sidebars to Trump’s Israel visit

AIPAC commends Trump’s statements on U.S. – Israel relationship

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release) — AIPAC commends President Donald J. Trump’s historic visit to Israel, which reflects the deep and enduring relationship between the two critical allies. We appreciate that the president went to the Jewish state as part of his first foreign trip in office—and he is the first sitting president to go to the Western Wall, near Judaism’s holiest site. This visit underscores the unwavering strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship and the Jewish state’s vital importance as America’s strategic partner in a volatile region.

Throughout his visit, President Trump made clear his strong commitment to the U.S.-Israel relationship. Yesterday (Monday), the president remarked at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence: “Today, we reaffirmed the unbreakable bond of friendship between Israel and the United States—a friendship built on our shared love of freedom, our shared belief in human dignity, and our shared hope for an Israel at lasting peace. We want Israel to have peace.” In his remarks today (Tuesday) at the Israel Museum, President Trump echoed those remarks stating, “I stand in awe of the accomplishments of the Jewish people, and I make this promise to you: My administration will always stand with Israel.”

At the Israel Museum, the president also articulated America’s determination that Iran will not obtain nuclear weapons and will confront the regime’s aggressive behavior. The president declared, “The United States is firmly committed to keeping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and halting their support of terrorists and militias. So, we are telling you right now that Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”

President Trump described the U.S.-Israel relationship as being forged in common values, “But even as we strengthen our partnership in practice, let us always remember our highest ideals—let us never forget that the bond between our two nations is woven together in the hearts of our people—and their love of freedom, hope, and dignity for all.”
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FLOTUS Melania Trump and Sara Netanyahu, the wife of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visit pediatric patients at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem on May 22. (Photo: Hadassah) Hadassah Hospital is known as a center of peaceful coexistence between Arabs and Jews in Israel and is the recipient of a 2005 Nobel Peace Prize nomination for building “bridges to peace” through equality of medical treatment. It is world-renowned for it’s heart and cancer research and treatment and for its innovative stem cell immuno-therapy treatments for neuro-generative diseases.

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AJC lauds substance and symbolism of Trump’s trip

NEW YORK (Press Release)– AJC saluted President Trump for his steadfast support of the U.S.-Israel relationship, Israeli security and its age-old quest for peace, the eternal link between the Jewish people and the land of Israel, and firm commitment to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

“My administration will always stand with Israel,” said Trump in his keynote address at the Israel Museum today (Tuesday). “Let’s always remember the bond between our two nations is woven together in the hearts of our peoples,” said Trump. “America’s security partnership with Israel is stronger than ever.”

The Museum, located in Jerusalem, Israel’s capital city, was the last stop on the President’s 36-hour visit to Israel, which included meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Reuven Rivlin, and visits to the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest site, and to Yad Vashem, the official memorial to the victims of the Holocaust.

Several times in Israel, as he did in Saudi Arabia, the President sharply condemned the Iranian regime’s nuclear ambitions and its brazen interference in other countries.

“The U.S. is truly committed to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon and halting its support for terror,” said Trump. “Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”

AJC CEO David Harris applauded both the substance and symbolism of President Trump’s visit to Israel.

“By laudably visiting Israel on his initial overseas trip, President Trump has demonstrated that the U.S.-Israel bond, based on shared democratic values, remains unshakable and is central to his world view,” said Harris. “The President’s vow to do what he can to get an Israeli-Palestinian peace process back on track is important, but will only succeed if Palestinian Authority President Abbas returns to the table to engage in the direct talks with Israel that are essential to achieving a two-state solution, while ending the glorification of terrorism and repeated calls to incitement that undermine prospects for peaceful coexistence.”

President Trump’s itinerary included several milestones, including the direct flight from the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh, to Israel; the first visit to the Western Wall by a sitting U.S. president; the first U.S. president to include Israel in his initial overseas trip; and the unambiguous recognition of the link between Jerusalem and Israel.
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ADL pleased Trump emphasized Jewish ties to Jerusalem
NEW YORK (Press Release) — The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Tuesday commended President Donald Trump on a successful visit to Israel and his commitment to working for a secure Israel at peace with its neighbors.

Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO, issued the following statement:

“We commend the president for choosing to visit Israel on his first international trip and his affirmation of the ‘unshakable’ bond between our two countries. Throughout the two days, President Trump made clear that not only would his Administration stand with Israel to ensure its security and stability, but also to work towards reaching peace with the Palestinians and the wider Arab world.

“He was clearly moved by his visit to Jerusalem and its holy sites. In particular, his clear acknowledgement of the Jewish people’s ties to Jerusalem was significant in light of recent anti-Israel UNESCO resolutions. His recitation of the thousands of years of Jewish connection to and presence in the land of Israel was an important rebuke against anti-Israel forces and those who seek to deny that unalterable connection.

“The president’s remarks at Yad Vashem were an important statement about his appreciation for the horrors suffered by the Jewish people during the Holocaust, and the need to remain vigilant in the face of anti-Semitism today.

“The president also recognized the dangers to Israel posed by Palestinian incitement, as evidenced by his call on Palestinian President Abbas to stop paying the families of jailed Palestinian terrorists, and his visit to both Saudi Arabia and Israel affirmed America’s stalwart stance in support of Israel along with other regional U.S. allies in standing against extremism, terrorism and Iranian efforts to destabilize the region and pursue nuclear weapons.
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APN: Trip short on substantive content

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Donald Trump just ended a 28-hour visit to Israel and the West Bank that was rich with color, atmospherics, symbolism and lofty talk about prospects for peace and commitment to peace, but appallingly short on content. During his Middle East tour, President Trump did not refer even once to the two-state solution, and said almost nothing about what Israelis and Palestinians must do in the short run to prepare the ground for future peace.

Trump’s objective may have been winning the trust of the Israeli public in order for him to later serve as an honest, effective broker in future Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. His hollow visit may have been a part of a plan.

But there are too many indications that President Trump lacks the patience, the strategy and the staff to launch the kind of serious, committed peace-brokership initiative that Israelis and Palestinians need in order to restart a meaningful peace process.

Sooner rather than later, Trump will find that after many failed attempts by his predecessors, brokering peace between Israelis and Palestinians requires more than pomp and platitudes. If he is to effectively lead an Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative, Trump will have to make a strong commitment to a coherent vision, and the only viable vision is a two-state solution, Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security.

He will also realize that while Arab governments in the region may play an important assisting role in advancing peace, the so-called “ultimate deal” will have to be negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians. Saudis and Emiratis cannot and should not do the diplomatic heavy lifting for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

Trump will also soon realize that both Israelis and Palestinians see through an American standoffish peace-brokership posture, even when it’s hidden behind pompous promises to “get it done.” They see through it, and the extremists among them immediately fill the non-action vacuum with peace-spoiling actions such as stepped-up violence and settlement construction.

As we at Americans for Peace Now have stated before, if Trump takes action indicating that he is seriously pursuing a viable Israeli-Palestinian peace deal, we will leverage our influence and experience to support him.

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RJC says Trump’s trip welcome change from Obama

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Republican Jewish Coalition released the following response to President Donald Trump’s remarks at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, Israel, Tuesday:

“We applaud President Trump’s historic declaration of support for Israel, for her security and for her right to exist as the free and sovereign nation of the Jewish people in their ancient homeland. His remarks today were an outstanding expression of the deep American friendship with Israel and of our shared values and goals.

“The President’s words stood in stark contrast from the previous American administration’s policies. The Obama administration gave us eight years of “daylight” between the U.S. and Israel, a dangerous nuclear deal with Iran, and a set of policies that allowed terrorist groups to grow and thrive across the region. That era is over.

“The RJC welcomes and commends President Trump’s words today and his reaffirmation of our unbreakable ties with Israel.”

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Yad Vashem recounts President Trump’s visit there
JERUSALEM (Press Release) — The President of the United States of America, Mr. Donald J. Trump, participated in a memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem on 23 May 2017. Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev accompanied President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump while at Yad Vashem.  Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Mrs. Sara Netanyahu, Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, and Chairman of the Yad Vashem Council Rabbi Israel Meir Lau also joined the President during his visit.

During the ceremony, conducted by Yad Vashem’s Michael Fisher, the President rekindled the eternal flame and laid a wreath on a slab under which ashes from extermination camps are buried. El Maleh Rachamim, a Jewish prayer for the souls of the martyrs’ of the Holocaust, was sung by cantor, Shai Ambramson.

Following the ceremony, President Trump signed the Yad Vashem guest book and made a moving statement, where he affirmed the paramount importance of remembering the victims of the Holocaust.

“It was the most savage crime against God and His children, and it is our solemn duty to remember, to mourn, to grieve and to honor every single life that was so cruelly and viciously taken…Only when we remember the families who were torn apart from everyone they loved, who suffered that terrible darkness and evil, who had endured the unbearable horror of the Holocaust, only then can we prevent this agony from ever repeating.”

“As long as we refuse to be silent in the face of evil, as long as we refuse to dim the light of truth in the midst of darkness, as long as we refuse to become bystanders to barbarity then we know that goodness, peace and justice will ultimately prevail”, he added.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered remarks highlighting the significance of Holocaust commemoration, stating, “You honor today the memory of six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust…Today in this solemn place, in Yad Vashem a great monument of remembrance, we remember the Holocaust. We remember the hatred towards Jews that consumed the defenseless people. We pledge never to be defenseless against that hatred again.”

Yad Vashem Chairman Avner Shalev presented the President with a token of remembrance, an exact replica of the original Holocaust-era personal album that belonged to Ester Goldstein who was murdered during the Holocaust at the age of 16. Shalev explained how the album is comprised of messages of hope and everlasting friendship inscribed by Ester’s family and friends. Some of the pages are embellished with optimistic and innocent illustrations, while others include photographs of those dearest to her.

“Approximately 1.5 million Jewish children were murdered in the Holocaust, most of them leaving behind almost no trace – a handful of photographs and some personal belongings. This precious album offers insight into the life of a young girl that was cut brutally short,” he said.

Ester’s sister Margot Herschenbaum, the sole survivor of her immediate family, attended the Presidential event at Yad Vashem and was notably moved when the President and the First Lady exchanged heartfelt remarks with her after receiving her sister’s album.