White House Chaos Throws Trump Israel Trip Into Turmoil Too
Donald Trump speaking at the 2016 AIPAC Policy Conference. Image by Getty
By Naomi Zeveloff May 18, 2017
Team Trump is causing chaos for Israeli officials as they prepare for the U.S. president’s first visit to Israel, according to a report in the Israeli news site Ynet.
The American team sent to Israel is “considered junior, lacks the authority to make decisions and frequently changes its mind,” said Ynet. The Israelis have chalked up the lack of organization to “first visit symptoms.”
The biggest problem is last minute changes to Trump’s itinerary. Trump was originally planning to speak at Masada, the ancient desert fortress that is a highly nationalistic site in Israel. Team Trump changed the visit from Tuesday to Monday of next week because of predicted hot weather, and then scrapped the Masada speech altogether. Trump will speak at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem instead.
Israelis and Americans disagreed over the pomp around Trump’s landing at the airport. The Israeli team proposed a an airport reception with speeches by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump, but the Americans were “resolutely opposed” to the idea, proposing quick handshakes and the Israeli and American national anthems.
Contact Naomi Zeveloff at [email protected] or on Twitter @naomizeveloff
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
