Transactional diplomacy: Israel must defends its interests, not rely on Trump's whims

 https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-854337

Israel must recognize that there may be moments when it will need to act to protect its core interests, even in the face of American objections.

This episode revealed not just the limits of Trump’s follow-through, but the nature of his foreign policy. Grand declarations, vague promises, and sudden pivots are features of his style. The goal is often less about substance than about maximizing leverage and scoring bombastic headlines. Trump may feel a strong affinity toward Israel, but his overriding priority is clear: he is looking out for what he defines as America’s interests – and increasingly, those are transactional in nature. So Israel must do the same.

This is Trump’s model of diplomacy: transactional, optics-driven, and bottom-line focused. His decision to lift sanctions on Syria was summed up with characteristic bluntness: “Oh, what I do for the [Saudi] crown prince.” Decades of US policy reversed – not for ideology, but for return on investment.

Israel cannot play the game at Gulf levels, nor should it try. But it must recognize that the rules have changed. The alliance with the US, which relied heavily on shared values and historical ties in the past, must now be augmented heavily by deliverables. It must be constantly reinforced with strategic returns that matter to Washington’s current leadership, especially economic ones.