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U.S. NEWSFriday 11 December 2015
Trump cancels Israel visit after uproar over his comments
Continued from front
“The situation in Israel is
particularly volatile, and so
I think in this case, his deci- east and elsewhere. Trump
sion to reconsider that trip
is a good outcome for all
of those involved,” Earnest
added.
From the day he launched
his candidacy, Trump’s
campaign has been driv-
en by one controversy af-
ter the next. There was his
assertion that that Mexican
government was send-
ing its rapists and crimi-
nals across the border; his
statement that Sen. John
McCain wasn’t a war hero
because he was captured;
his feud with Fox News an-
chor Megyn Kelly; a series
of factually inaccurate
remarks; and the time he
called Iowa voters stupid.
Each time, Trump’s com-
ments have drawn fury
from his opponents and
prompted pundits to pre-
dict his pending demise.
But each time, Trump has
emerged unscathed.
It remains unclear whether
his proposal on Muslim im-
migration will have any
long-lasting impact on his
campaign. But overseas,
the Israel trip is just one of
many casualties.
A visit to Israel is considered
a rite of passage for U.S.
presidential candidates as
they seek to burnish their
foreign policy creden-
tials and appeal to Jewish
American voters, and Ne-
tanyahu has hosted scores
of candidates and elected
American officials over the
years.
During the current cam-
paign, Trump’s Republican
rivals have questioned his
foreign policy bona fides, with Republican positions lim. comments and to cancel
suggesting he lacks the on economic and secu- Early this year, Netanyahu the meeting unless the
depth and diplomatic skill rity issues, would have wel- was harshly criticized when American retracts them.
to tackle crises in the Mid- comed Trump. Like the oth- he warned that Arabs were Some 37 lawmakers, nearly
er Republican candidates, voting “in droves” as he a third of the parliament,
has argued his vast expe- Trump — whose daughter, made an urgent election- signed the petition.
rience brokering business Ivanka, converted to Juda- day plea to supporters to In a statement Wednes-
day, Netanyahu rejected
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greets supporters before he delivers his mes- Trump’s comments about
sage during a campaign rally at the state fair in Oklahoma City. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Muslims, saying Israel “re-
Netanyahu on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2015, rejected Trump’s recent statements about Muslims, say- spects all religions.” Al-
ing Israel “respects all religions” as he faced calls to call off an upcoming visit by the Republican though he had said he
front-runner. would go ahead with
the Dec. 28 meeting, he
(AP Photo/J Pat Carter) stressed it did not amount
to an endorsement of
deals qualifies him to ne- ism — has long worked to go to the polls. Trump.
gotiate with foreign lead- portray himself as a strong Those comments remain An Israeli official, speaking
ers, and he has cited the supporter of Israel. fresh in the minds of Israeli on condition of anonym-
Israeli-Palestinian conflict But Trump’s comments Arabs, and cozying up to ity because he was not
as a prime example. about Muslims had put the Trump would have risked authorized to discuss the
In an interview with The As- Israeli leader in a bind. drawing renewed accusa- matter with the media,
sociated Press last week, Throughout a three-de- tions of racism, particularly said there had been no Is-
Trump said of potentially cade political career, if the outspoken real estate raeli pressure on Trump to
brokering a peace deal in Netanyahu has been a mogul and reality TV star cancel. Likewise, Marc Zell,
the Middle East, “If you can leading voice warning of managed to offend Mus- co-chairman of Republi-
make that deal, you can the dangers of Islamic ex- lims. cans Overseas Israel, said
make any deal. It’s prob- tremism. Yet he has tried Opposition lawmaker Mi- there was “none whatso-
ably the toughest deal to to be careful about differ- chal Rozin of the dovish ever” from his organization,
make.”In normal circum- entiating between Islamic Meretz party on Wednes- which represents Republi-
stances, Netanyahu, who extremists and the Muslim day initiated a petition can supporters among the
thrives in the public lime- religion. Nearly 20 percent urging Netanyahu to con- country’s large American
light and tends to agree of Israel’s population is Mus- demn Trump’s “racist” expatriate community.
“He’s welcome to visit Is-
rael, but I think it’s better
that he didn’t come be-
cause his visit here would
have been marred by a
loud dissenting voice com-
ing from all sectors of the
population, including me,”
Zell said.
“I don’t believe he’s capa-
ble of being the president
of the United States be-
cause I think he lacks good
judgment,” he added,
stressing that he was voic-
ing a personal opinion.
Palestinian officials said
there were no plans for
Trump to meet with them,
and they welcomed news
of his cancellation.q