Reactions from partisan American Jewish groups to President Donald Trump’s proposals for Gaza — that “all” Palestinians leave and the United States “take over” the territory — began flowing in just as soon as their leaders picked their jaws up off the floor on Tuesday night.
The proposals — the latter of which was reportedly secret to even many in the Trump administration before the president aired it at a White House press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — elicited sharp revulsion from liberal Jewish groups and excitement from those on the right.
Mainstream Jewish groups did not immediately respond on Tuesday night but began to issue statements on Wednesday morning. The American Jewish Committee, for example, said it welcomed the support Trump expressed for the current Israel-Hamas ceasefire but expressed concerns about his norm-shattering proposals.
“At the same time, the President’s surprising, concerning, and confusing comments on an American plan to ‘take control’ and ‘own’ Gaza and the relocation of its population raise a wealth of questions – first among them the impact of the President’s announcement on the ongoing hostage-release agreement,” the group said in a statement.
Many groups did not strive for such balance.
“What do you even say about this absurd & dangerous press conference?” said Amy Spitalnick, CEO of the liberal nonpartisan Jewish Council for Public Affairs, on social media. “Unfathomably horrific and cruel for Palestinians. So incredibly foolish re: US interests. And fundamentally at odds with Israel’s own future — because there is no Jewish, democratic Israel without Palestinian self-determination.”
And Halie Soifer, CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, said in a statement, “The notion that the United States is going to ‘take over’ Gaza, including with the deployment of U.S. troops, isn’t just extreme — it’s completely detached from reality. In what world is this happening? Not the one we inhabit. Netanyahu praised his ‘out of the box’ thinking, but let’s be honest — it’s insane.”
Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal pro-Israel lobby J Street, had previously expressed openness to the idea that Trump’s iconoclastic approach to Middle East politics could allow for an elusive breakthrough toward peace. On Tuesday night, he channeled none of that optimism.
“J Street cannot express strongly enough opposition to the ideas being put forward by President Trump regarding Gaza. There aren’t adequate words to express our disgust at the idea of forcible displacement of Palestinians with the assistance of the United States of America,” Ben-Ami said in a statement.
“We call on leaders around the world, political leaders in this country and, of course, Jewish communal leaders in this country to express in no uncertain terms that these proposals are absolutely unacceptable – legally and morally,” he added.
Most American Jews did not vote for Trump. Among those who supported him, the reaction to his Gaza proposals — which matched the vision laid out by Israel’s far-right — included excitement.
Mort Klein, who heads the Zionist Organization of America, called Trump’s plan for the United States to take over Gaza an “extraordinary declaration that could assure the end of the Islamic-Arab terrorist group Hamas, and secure southern Israel after decades of terrorist attacks and missile launches from Hamas in Gaza. It will also be a major step towards a real peace in the region.”
Klein added, “Trump’s move could enable Israel and the US to develop this oceanfront oasis as a paradise in the Middle East while giving Israel the land it needs to thrive as a technological, scientific, cultural and religious giant. I see G-D’s hand here ultimately fulfilling his promise to the Jews of sovereignty over all of the Jewish land of Israel.”
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