Trump Promises ‘Unbreakable’ Bond With Israel — Even As He Looks Inward

Image by Getty Images

By Nathan Guttman March 1, 2017

While his speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday focused primarily on laying out his domestic and economic vision, President Trump also reiterated an isolationist approach that will guide America’s relations with the world.

“My job is not to represent the world. My job is to represent the United States of America,” Trump said. “But we know that America is better off, when there is less conflict — not more.”

Signaling his intention to cut U.S. foreign aid and overseas investments, Trump took issue specifically with American dollars being spent in the Middle East.

The Trump administration has indicated it will not cut foreign assistance to Israel, one of America’s largest recipients of aid in the region. In his speech, Trump vowed to “reaffirmed our unbreakable alliance” with Israel and noted his administration’s decision to impose new sanctions on companies and individuals involved in Iran ballistic missile program.

Trump did not make any reference in his speech to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process or to any broader Middle East policy.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected]

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

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 polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO