As word spread that the Arab country of Qatar may give President Donald Trump a luxury airplane, Israeli citizens passed around a suggestion in chat groups on how to match that offer: giving Trump his own parking spot in the traffic nightmare that is Tel Aviv.
It was a joke, of course. But it underscored a reality that’s dawning on Israelis like never before as Trump tours the Middle East this week. Compared with many of its neighbors, Israel doesn’t have much in the way of tangible financial benefits to offer a U.S. president whose preferred form of statecraft is economic.
This is nothing new. If you remember the oil crisis after the yom Kippur war in 73, the Arab oil wealth was big news. The west has sold billions in modern technology to these countries.
ReplyDeleteThey still keep Israel with the military edge.
There's was also the issue of balance between the US and USSR in the Middle East. This time it really seems to be what the US wants and who can best provide it.
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