GEEZERPOWER

Nathan Yahoo, in spite of his posturing, can hardly contain himself over the newly installed cabinet of the Mein Trumpf regime. The  Golan Heights comes to mind...

               From the horses mouth

TABLET  is a daily online magazine of Jewish news, ideas, and culture. Launched in June 2009   

WILL TRUMP AND NETANYAHU MAKE THE AMERICA-ISRAEL RELATIONSHIP GREAT AGAIN?

 PEOTUS is stacking his cabinet with friends of the Jewish State, but the geopolitical realities of Iran, Russia, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and ISIS may complicate his Middle East policy, whatever it turns out to be

 By Lee Smith
December 7, 2016 • 10:00 PM

 Though some Americans may not want to hear it, the election of Donald Trump has changed Israel’s strategic situation dramatically for the better. Prepared to deal with what was presumably a somewhat friendlier version of the Obama administration run by Hillary Clinton, Jerusalem is now looking at what may be the most pro-Israel White House in the history of the bilateral relationship. The Israelis have been relatively quiet about their enthusiasm for the Trump administration—partly because the American public is still so dramatically split on the election, and partly because it was accused of siding with the 2012 Republican nominee for president. But the government of Benjamin Netanyahu had a favorite in the November race—and he won. As far as the Netanyahu government is concerned, it’s impossible to imagine an American White House more attuned to Israel’s concerns than Trump’s. One senior Israeli official likened Trump’s picks to a “dream team” of pro-Israel U.S. policymakers—a uniquely favorable lineup that presents Israel with an opportunity to make strategic gains. Most important to Israel, according to the same official, is Iran. “We haven’t changed our view of the nuclear deal with Iran or Iran’s malevolent role in the region,” the official told me. “But the incoming administration sees both the nuclear deal and the danger posed by Iran very differently than the outgoing administration. They believe that this deal and Iran’s aggression and support for terror is not only bad for Israel and the region. They think it is bad for America.” The first item on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s list when he talks to President-elect Donald Trump will be the strategic threat posed by the Iranian nuclear program and consequently the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which all but guarantees an Iranian breakout within 15 years. “The problem of how to deal with this deal is something I will discuss with President Trump when he takes office,” Netanyahu told a Saban Forum audience in Washington by satellite video this weekend. “Iran has actually become an even more aggressive power.”