By LAWRENCE POLYAKOVUpdated: JUNE 7, 2017 10:15
Donald Trump is the first sitting U.S president to visit the western wall, pretty shocking it’s taken so long. Traveling directly from Saudi Arabia to Israel was also a first, and a much larger statement to the Middle East than most would like to acknowledge. This is a new administration, one that will be nothing like the last one in terms of policy and action. Donald Trump does not plan to lead from behind, nor does he plan on events to take place and react, he will look instead to shape future events. This is a major break from the previous administration, who largely believed in a reactionary policy, and often failing to react properly or appropriately in times America was needed. As the media at home literally conspires to remove Donald Trump from office, the rest of the world is clearly showing him the respect he deserves. He is the leader of the free world, he has plans, and they directly affect the rest of the world. Something the media doesn't really like to admit, but the rest of the world is watching what the American president will do. For the Middle East, Trump will emphasize stability. Now I know my fellow Jews are wondering whether or not the embassy will be moved to Jerusalem. As much as I want that to happen, I want to be honest. I do not believe he will be moving the embassy during his first term. He needs Arab nations to combat the growing threat of terrorism, and moving the embassy right now would only hamper his efforts. The most pressing issue is the Syrian civil war which is causing an unspeakable humanitarian crisis. Europe has decided to react to events and simply open up their borders. A unsustainable approach that does not fix the underlying problem, but rather only puts its own citizens are risk. Donald Trump plans on doing something about it, Europe plans on continued appeasement. The correct answer was never opening up the borders, and reshaping the face of the continent. The answer was fixing the problem at its source, and that was in the Middle East. It made no sense that Saudi Arabia had these wonderful refugee camps, yet not a single refugee is being housed there. It never made sense for Syrians to leave their natural habitat, their preferred home and climate in the Middle East for the frigid temperatures of Sweden. If the war cant be brought to end right away, then refugee camps should've been opened up in the nearest countries that could provide. The world just witnessed the vast wealth of the Saudi Arabian people, they can afford to help. Yet, the Syrians went half a world away to Sweden and Germany. Places with entirely different languages and cultures. The Syrian war needs to come to end, and the Syrian people need to go home and rebuild their country. This is the only plan that actually solves the problem at its source, and it is the only end we should be striving to achieve. How Donald Trump plans on doing this is remained to be seen, but I believe this is the plan he will be trying to achieve. How the Syrian war comes to end will very much parallel Donald Trump’s how his Iran policy takes shape. He has made clear that a nuclear armed Iran is unacceptable, and Iran doesn't look to be slowing down their efforts to build one. Economic sanctions would be the place to start, but I don't believe he will do it just yet. From what it seems, the President is waiting for Iran to make a mistake that will violate and essentially negate the deal America made with Iran. In order to justify negating the whole deal, can only come from Iran violating an essential clause of said deal. Donald Trumps first foreign trip was an overwhelming success. In Riyadh he held nothing back against the dangers of radical islam and the need for Arab countries to drive them out. When meeting with European leaders, he made it loud and clear that the U.S will no longer accept NATO nations not contributing their fair share. But most importantly, the entire world showed him respect we haven’t seen since Reagan. This trip was an announcement that America is back. And we have a new leader at the helm whose goal is protecting the American people and creating a business friendly environment. This is a sharp contrast to the Obama doctrine of spending billions on g-d knows what and he is ongoing berating of the American people.