Sometimes you just can't beat timing, schadenfreude, karma, call it what you will. On the heels of the UN (Useless Nations) deciding that Har HaBayit (the Temple Mount) was Arab property and the E-Useless deciding to resurrect the Nazi yellow Star of David by declaring that products from Samaria in Israel needed their own labelling, along comes Donald Trump and in true New York fashion, gives both of these not-so credible organizations the big middle finger (or chin salute depending on your neighborhood), by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declaring that there is no illegality in the "settlements". Imagine that. Jews can live where they want. In their land. The mind boggles.
The reactions were predictable. On the positive side were the expressions of thanks from Bibi and the right, and to his credit, Gantz as well. Most but not all of the E-Useless nations and the terrorist Abbas as well as the Vatican, had near strokes. But I think the coup de grace was the saved for the Jewish left and their worship trinity of the two state solution, destruction of the settlements as part of land givebacks leading to a Palestinian terror state, and of course any and all current social justice causes. With the piece by piece dismantling by Trump of the Palestinian authority along with the burying of the two state solution paradigm and now declaring settlements legal, our assimilated liberal (asslibs for short) as well as the Neturei Karta will no doubt be in perpetual mourning for the loss of two of three Godhead components. I think the most interesting reaction or non-reaction is from those who remained silent, i.e., a good part of the more "enlightened" Arab world that realizes compared to Iran, maybe Israel is not so bad after all and Avigdor Liberman. I've always suspected that Liberman is a closet leftist who doesn't give a damn about Judea-Samaria. His silence on Trump's action speaks volumes.
Pompeo's announcement is really no surprise if you've been following along. David Freidman over the summer, announced the intention in an interview with the New York Times. If Bibi needed a signal that he had a clear path to annexation of some or all of Yesha, here it was. But as I said in that piece, Friedman was screaming but I feared it was for naught as Bibi was "deaf". My thoughts on Bibi and the rest of the right have been clearly described elsewhere. Years of opportunities to truly lead and render the left and the Arabs (those who wish to be fifth columnists) powerless and irrelevant instead were spent infighting over nothing, over selfish sectarian political issues; money, the Hareidi draft, settlement build-up, Oslo, not Oslo, shmay, dray. Bibi, who could have been one of the greatest leaders Israel ever had will now be remembered as someone who failed to form a government twice, who ended up indicted and humiliated, and it was all preventable and self-inflicted. All Bibi needed was a dose of humility and recognition of a heavenly authority over him and things might have been different. No chess matches of political strategy, no wondering how to stay in power day to day, no loathing of him by half of the Israeli electorate or more, no allowing a wrecking ball like Liberman anywhere near the seat of power. Just a duty to lead Israel to greatness by uniting both secular and religious forces on the right. But clearly, that was above his pay grade. He should consider his current situation as a personal rebuke from the Creator for wasting his talents and 20 years of opportunities. In addition, in surveying the next potential crop of Israeli leadership, I am not exactly enamored with anyone; not Bennet, and especially not Shaked as the right has a bad track record of being burned by those they envision as secular messiahs. Feiglin had a shot, but he had no clue how to be a politician and buried himself in irrelevancy through very bad decision making and picking bad partners.
I've mentioned previously why Bibi was in fact the perfect PM for Israel during the Obama years but now his time is over. It is both amazing and a "shanda" that it took Donald Trump to do what no Israeli PM could do. Declare that Yesha is OK for the Jews to live in the cradle of our homeland. Our homeland and not one Israeli PM or government could make the case before. But then again, it's a simple calculus. If Bibi and/or the right can't do it, no worries. Gd will take care of it. It might prove a more difficult path, but if Israel can't field effective leadership, at least it has Donald Trump acting as an Israeli PM should act. With all his flaws, he makes the case that Gd does not pick perfect people for a job. He picks people who are perfect for the job at hand. See this interesting metaphysical analysis by Rabbi Mendel Kessin. I fully believe on faith and from what I've heard, that Trump knows he is being divinely protected from the savages on the left because he is all in on Israel. And don't think for a moment that it's a coincidence that the announcement about Yesha came the week of Chaye Sara, where we read of the acquisition of the Ma'arah by Avraham. From abandoning the two state solution to systematically destroying the PA and UNRWA, he is leading Israel right now. Until Israel can field its own, he'll do just fine.
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