The Times of Israel 17, January 2025 They love Trump, but many on the right loathe the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal he demanded
In both Israel and the United States, some of those who praised and strongly backed the incoming president deeply oppose the Gaza agreement he is enthusing over and are trashing the hostage deal he is championing as he reenters office — and in some cases, they’re criticizing Trump himself.
The wariness comes after reports that Trump and his incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, turned the screws on Netanyahu to get him to say yes to the ceasefire deal. Upon the deal’s announcement, Trump called it “EPIC.”
On Wednesday, Israeli journalist Shmuel Rosner tweeted, “Is the right disappointed in Trump? Yes, but they’re not necessarily surprised. The Israeli right doesn’t have heavenly faith in the president. And that was before it became known that he put pressure on the question of a hostage deal.”
On Tuesday, as a deal appeared imminent, Itamar Ben-Gvir — Israel’s far-right national security minister said, “The coalescing agreement is an agreement of surrender to Hamas.”
Likewise, the American Jewish organization that has most celebrated Trump, the Zionist Organization of America, has come out vocally against the deal — without naming the incoming president, cheerleading it.
ZOA in 2022 gave Trump its Herzl Award, a rare honor from the group, and its president, Morton Klein, called him “the best friend Israel ever had in the White House.”
This week alone, the group has sent out three emails to its list opposing the deal.
“Alleged Deal Would Mean More Jews Will Be Murdered and Kidnapped; a Hamas Victory and Resurgence,” one message says. It did not mention Trump.
Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton opted to blame outgoing US President Joe Biden for the agreement, without mentioning that Trump’s team worked closely with Biden’s and staunchly supported the agreement.
“Why is lame duck Joe Biden trying to cram down a bad deal on Israel on his way out the door?” Cotton tweeted. “The only ‘deal’ should be unconditional surrender by Hamas—which is already nearly destroyed—and return of ALL hostages.”
