Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Welcome To Israel, Donald — I Want A Selfie!

Donald Trump in Israel, May 22, 2017 Image by Getty Images

It didn’t take long for Donald Trump to grasp the difference between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

Moments after he landed, the famous Israeli informality was on full display.

First, at the receiving line of Israeli dignitaries waiting to shake hands with the visiting president. Naftali Bennett who leads the right-wing Jewish Home party, held on to Trump just long enough to tell him it is time for America to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over Jerusalem. “That’s an idea,” Trump replied. Other cabinet ministers also chose to replace the quick handshake with a lecture on Israel’s historic ties to Jerusalem

Nothing prepared Trump for Oren Hazan, a Likud MK, who stopped Trump, pulled out his phone, and shot a sefie with the president. Minutes later Hazan proudly posted the selfie online.

And then came the short stroll toward the helicopter transporting Trump to Jerusalem. In the informal chat, caught on camera Sara Netanyahu was heard discussing with Melania Trump the joint destiny the first two families share. “Most people in Israel, unlike the media, they love us,” said Sara Netanyahu, “so we tell them how brave you are and they love you.”

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

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.

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. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.