Voice of the Jewish News: Trump elected – heaven help US!
search

The latest Jewish News

Read this week’s digital edition

Click Here

Voice of the Jewish News: Trump elected – heaven help US!

This week's editorial focuses on the earth-shattering election of an American billionaire as U.S. president

Donald Trump addressing the crowd at a campaign rally in Cincinnati, July 2016. (John Sommers II/Getty Images)
Donald Trump addressing the crowd at a campaign rally in Cincinnati, July 2016. (John Sommers II/Getty Images)

The popular consensus on President-elect Donald Trump’s surprise march to the White House has been shock and horror. How can a man who says what he says and behaves how he behaves – while
displaying the emotional maturity of a 12-year-old – be allowed to have his finger on the nuclear codes?

He may have looked and sounded a little more like a statesman during his victory speech on Wednesday morning, but this  won’t begin to wash away the unstatesmanlike bravado that marred his campaign from start to finish.

If this man has any hidden depths they certainly didn’t emerge during his battle with Hillary Clinton.

The often-vile personality we witnessed somehow managed to gain the trust and votes of 50 million Americans – a quite staggering statistic.

Most politicians – Vladamir Putin and Nigel Farage aside – didn’t want to see the billionaire reality TV star anywhere near the White House. Now that’s where he’s heading, the world will simply have to knuckle down and deal with him.

Pragmatic politicians are, of course, making the best of it, insisting the new leader of the free world should be judged on future actions rather than the wicked words that brought him to power.

Theresa May said the UK and US will remain “strong and close partners on trade, security and defence”  and stressed the enduring “special relationship”. Nicola Sturgeon said the result should be respected and Scotland valued its relationship with the US. Even Jeremy Corbyn, for whom “The Donald” is anathema to his worldview, looked on the bright side, saying: “I have no doubt that the decency and common sense of the American people will prevail.”

In January reality will bite and the one billion-dollar question asked: what will President Trump do? Here are some of our best guesses…

Abroad, he will keep making a lot of noise about Iran, but he will not tear up the nuclear deal, unless there is a significant military threat to Israel. He may introduce new laws making it even more difficult for companies to deal with anything even remotely linked to an Iranian proxy, increasing the nervousness of big U.S. banks doing business in the Middle East.

His friendship with Russia means that, if he does decide to support a two-state push, he may give Vladimir Putin the nod to hold talks in Moscow. Putin and Trump would then share in the glory if it came off, which it won’t.

Before 2017 ends, there will be a high-profile presidential visit to the Holy Land, with big smiles all round, as he ‘brings Bibi back in from the cold.’

On military aid to Israel, the man who refuses to pay contractors is unlikely to increase the $38billion 10-year deal recently signed by Israel and the U.S. But he would be receptive to one-off military funding requests. An Israeli scrap with Hezbollah would be motive enough.

At home, if he is able, he may tighten race-hate laws, especially over anti-Israel activity. He will no doubt do this by mentioning the word ‘terrorism’. A lot. American universities, once home of the counter-revolution, may find that, under Trump, supporting Israel Apartheid Week becomes illegal.

Support your Jewish community. Support your Jewish News

Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.

For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.

Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.

You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.

100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...

Engaging

Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.

Celebrating

There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.

Pioneering

In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.

Campaigning

Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.

Easy access

In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.

Voice of our community to wider society

The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.

We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.

read more: