Donald Trump - Bibi's Best Friend

In an apparent bid to court Jewish voters, Donald Trump has changed course of Israel and now supports further Israeli settlement of the occupied Palestinian territories.

When asked whether there should be a pause in settlement construction in territory Israel captured in the Six-Day War but where Palestinians seek to establish their own state, Trump replied:

"No, I don't think it is, because I think Israel should have – they really have to keep going. They have to keep moving forward."

"No, I don't think there should be a pause," Trump said. "Look: Missiles were launched into Israel, and Israel, I think, never was properly treated by our country. I mean, do you know what that is, how devastating that is?"

Meanwhile, Haaretz columnist, Gideon Levy, has a word of advice for the Trudeau government:

...even if we are not enthusiastic about it we have no choice but to recognize that boycott, divestment and sanctions is the only game in town, the last hope for the change that Benn also wants. This is the only means to stop Israel from persisting in its crimes. The only alternative is bloodshed, which no one wants.

Sanctions and boycott are the most non-violent, legitimate means there are (Israel constantly preaches to the world to use them against its enemies) and have been proven effective.

...It is true that North Korea and Cuba did not surrender to boycotts, but they are not democracies and public opinion in those countries carries little weight. The Israelis, based on the experience of the past, are much more spoiled. Close down the international airport for two days and let’s see who’s for the settlement of Yitzhar; demand a visa for every little vacation abroad and let’s see who will say “the Land of Israel for the People of Israel.” And we haven’t even begun to talk about ongoing conditions of shortages and economic crisis that will require Israel to finally ask: Is all this really worthwhile to satisfy an appetite for real estate, is all this worthwhile for the caprice of the occupation, are they prepared to pay out of their own pocket and lifestyle for regions of the country that most people have never even seen and have no real interest in their fate?

...BDS has not yet begun to lick at our lives here. Meanwhile there is no real economic warfare, rather only movements that are only gradually changing international discourse about Israel. On the edges there are perhaps some elements of anti-Semitism, but it is basically a protest movement by people of conscience who want to do something. Economic decline as a result of it might occur quickly, not necessarily gradually. In South Africa the business community came to the government and said: Enough, this cannot go on. That could happen here too. 

It's beyond sad that our government of the day doesn't have Levy's honesty, his decency. When it comes to BDS, Trudeau and Trump are birds of a feather.

PostScript - Guess who has been given the go ahead to open an office in NATO headquarters in Brussels? You got it, Israel.