From Reagan to Trump

On August 13, 1982, the New York Times published a very important report on the state of US-Israel relations at the time. According to the article by Bernard Weinraub: a serious crisis was unfolding between US President Ronald Reagan and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Furious over Israel's bombardment of West Beirut, President Reagan tried to reach Begin by phone for a full hour but could not get through to him. After speaking with Saudi King Fahd in the meantime, Reagan finally managed a 10‑minute phone call with Begin. During the highly tense conversation, Reagan expressed his displeasure over Israel's latest attacks in quite harsh and clear terms, noting that this aggression was undermining the peace process. It was also evident from the report that the details had been "leaked" directly from the White House.

This incident was not the first crisis between President Reagan and Prime Minister Begin. In 1980, when Israel declared Jerusalem its "eternal capital," the White House opposed the fait accompli, and Reagan even gave a dismissive reply to Begin, who had invited him to "Israel's capital Jerusalem," saying that he might "visit Israel sometime." Menachem Begin, who had a long terrorist career from the late 1930s onward, caused endless trouble for the American administration from the moment he took office in 1977 with the highest electoral margin in Israeli history, until his resignation in the autumn of 1983, when, overwhelmed by depression following the death of his wife Aliza, he said, "I cannot go on any longer."

When President Reagan announced his Middle East peace plan on September 1, 1982 – later to be known by his name – Begin's cabinet unanimously rejected it within 48 hours. Israel's response was full of serious accusations and reproaches directed at Reagan. Interestingly, Reagan's plan was full of details that would, in the long run, guarantee Israel's presence and security in the Middle East. But Begin, unwilling to think reasonably and sensibly, chose to put Reagan in the crosshairs. At the same time, many of Begin's close associates began making statements against Reagan to the press. Deputy Prime Minister David Levy, Defense Minister Ariel Sharon, and Interior Minister Yosef Burg were among the leading figures. On top of all this, Begin sent Reagan a personal letter on September 6, criticizing the geographical naming used in official American statements – such as the West Bank – and reminded him of their Hebrew equivalents. Two days later, Begin made another statement to the Israeli press, accusing the White House administration of trying to overthrow the Israeli government, saying: "Our American friends should know that Israel is not Chile, and I am not Allende!"

These days, in the context of US-Israel relations, we are witnessing an interesting repetition of history. In the White House sits Donald Trump, who, like Ronald Reagan – a famous actor who appeared in 53 films before entering politics – happened to find himself in the presidency. In Israel, the strings are in the hands of Benjamin Netanyahu, Menachem Begin's political heir and disciple. The crises between Trump and Netanyahu, which occasionally spill into the press, are almost a carbon copy of the Reagan‑Begin tensions, with one difference: Trump has no filter, and his outbursts are accompanied by profanities.

In these days when the ceasefire agreement with Iran has been announced to the world, the predicament Trump finds himself in is instructive: he cannot even enjoy the end of a war he entered under Israeli pressure. Because at the end of a war entered with the illusion of regime change, the regime in Iran has only grown stronger; street protests have given way to demonstrations in support of the clerical rule. America's Arab allies have been left exposed and vulnerable. Saudi Arabia, which only recently was rumored to be on the verge of signing a peace deal with Israel, has turned away from Tel Aviv and drawn closer to Türkiye and Pakistan. Within this framework, the revival of the Hejaz Railway has been set in motion.

What Trump wants most right now must be for something to happen to Netanyahu so that he withdraws from the political scene – that is, of course, assuming nothing happens to Trump himself first.