There is no precedent for the outpouring of support for President Donald J. Trump and his effort to bring peace to the Middle East.
The two events (in one day) at Jerusalem and Sharm El-Sheikh were unimaginable until they happened.
It was clear President Trump has built personal relationships with the more than two dozen national leaders who joined him for photos. He has developed a working knowledge of the world that is astonishing.
The consistent references to peace in both Israel and Gaza represented a dramatic break with the 77-year struggle to survive that has characterized modern Israeli history.
Since it was re-established as a nation in May 1948, Israel was under siege. All its neighbors assaulted it in a coordinated effort to eliminate Israel from the face of the earth. It fought a series of wars to survive. Israel faced continuous terrorist efforts to destroy the country and drive its people out of the region. Hamas’s founding pledge was that “not a single Jew will remain.”
Now, in a strategic campaign that was first articulated in a speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee on March 16, 2016, President Trump’s steady, persistent effort has begun to pay off in ways that makes him historically unique among American presidents.
The Knesset handed out red hats which read “Trump the Peace President.” They were modeled after the now iconic MAGA hats. Knesset members then gave President Trump a long standing ovation before he began speaking. The Trump-led peace effort resulted in crowds in Jerusalem and Gaza chanting his name. This was unthinkable until it happened.
When the President finished in Israel and flew to Sharm El-Sheikh, his limousine drove down a road filled with signs depicting him and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. The signs were captioned “Welcome to the Land of Peace.” It was a long way from past wars.
Callista and I spent a good part of Monday watching this amazing moment in history. The extraordinarily positive and optimistic speeches made it clear we were seeing something that had never happened on this scale before.
The joy of the released hostages was so emotional that it kept bringing tears to my eyes. Watching a young girl reunited with the father – who she had not seen for two years and thought she might never see again – was so touching it was hard to watch. Similarly, watching a couple reunite who had been separated for two years by war and imprisonment was intensely powerful. They were all moments of deep joy and hope.
Through all the emotion, it occurred to me that this was a great start – but no one should kid themselves.
There is a lot of work ahead. Hamas kept its word on releasing the hostages. But it has also made clear it will not disarm or turn over the government of Gaza to others.
The next great test will be the contest between the massive, positive effort to rebuild Gaza and an embittered Hamas trying to keep control. For peace to succeed, the people of Gaza must be offered a dramatically safer and more prosperous way of life. A Hamas-led rearguard war of control could ruin everything.
It is already clear that a weakened and delegitimized Hamas will have much more aggressive competitors fighting to control Gaza. Several traditional Arab families who had status and authority before Hamas established a police state have re-emerged and indicated they will no longer accept Hamas’ dictatorship. The new international effort unveiled in Sharm El-Sheikh will include experts in policing and stopping terrorists and extremists.
The struggle will continue, but Gaza is closer to deradicalization than any time in recent decades. The Peace President will continue to push to complete the plan he outlined weeks ago. He will also start pushing to get peace in Ukraine.
President Trump is proving to be a warrior for peace. He’s demonstrated an effectiveness none of us could have imagined when he first came down the big escalator in June 2015.
The road ahead will be difficult. But the possibility of heroic and even miraculous outcomes is real. We could be on our way to real peace in the Middle East.
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(Featured Image Media Credit: Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok)
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