But I was very suprised today to hear him come down so hard on Israel, atrributing responsibility to the Israelis for the abscence of a peace agreement with the Palestinians. I know Mr Trump has a great deal of respect for the Jewish people and I do not attribute his comment to malice or ill intent. It simply shocked me to realize how little he understood about the Israel's valiant attempts to make peace over the last 30 years. Israel's gestures, which have been made at great risk have been consistently rebuffed in the face of continued Palestinian violence against Israeli citizens.The record on Palestinian aggression is manifestly clear on this fact. I would have thought that a man of Mr. Trump's insights would instinctually have grasped Israel's dilemna under these trying circumstances.
Mr Trump's comment also reflects a misunderstanding on the prevailing global surge of Islamism. Given the volatility in the region, the vast territorial gains made by ISIS, the financial windfall that both Iran and Hezbollah will receive under the terms of the Iran deal, I was astounded to think that Mr Trump would remotely consider the possibility of pressuring Israel to increase it's burden of defense by giving up territorial control of the West Bank. Under no circumstances should this be considered at this time by Israel, regardless of the pressure. Territorial concession in Gaza yielded a nightmare. I would have expected Mr. Trump to understand that the "land for peace formula" has proven, to have been a mis application of goodwill gestures. Islamist doctrine, whether Sunni or from Iran calls for the complete destruction of Israel. The upside of territorial concession is zero.
Hopefully Mr. Trump will soon revisit this issue and better come to undertand the depth of Islamist hatred and that a strong Israel at our side is the best of all possible defenses. Short of that, it would be most difficult to view Mr Trump as a candidate who understood the security cchallenges facing us as a nation.