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By: Hellen Zaboulani
Even before his political career began, former President Donald J. Trump reportedly called Israel “one of my favorite places in the world”. He has even pursued real estate deals in Israel. As reported by the NY Times, last year The Trump Organization pursued a deal to open a luxury hotel on a former site of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the heart of Jerusalem. The property eyed was just a short walk from the Israeli Supreme Court and the prime minister’s office. Some consider it odd, though, that it was also Mr. Trump who had been the first to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and ordered the U.S. Embassy moved to Jerusalem.
Mr. Trump, the Republic presidential candidate in the upcoming November elections, had also expressed business interest in the city of Tel Aviv. He had considered turning a rising skyscraper in Tel Aviv into another Trump-branded hotel, the NY Times reported.
That tower, which will twist with glass and steel, is near the headquarters of the Israel Defense Forces. Once completed, it has the potential to host the most hotel rooms in any Israeli tower. The talks, which were undertaken by Eric Trump who now runs the family business, saw negotiations stall since the war began in Israel last year with Hamas’ surprise attack on Oct. 7. Eric Trump confirmed in interviews that the company had engaged in serious discussions last year to open hotels in both Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. He said the Trump Organization pulled back after the Hamas attack.
“The deal absolutely would have gotten done if not for Oct. 7,” he said, adding that after the attack, building a hotel “would have seemed trivial and tone-deaf in light of the horrific things that the country and region were experiencing.” The Trump Organization added that it would “definitely” finalize a deal in Israel “when the current situation that we’re all witnessing on TV every day is resolved.” Before the talks were halted, the two sides had “agreed about the price and almost everything” on the Jerusalem property, said Haim Tsuff, chairman of the controlling shareholder of Nitsba Group, an Israeli real estate company which owns both the properties discussed.
Per the NY Times, however, the Israel hotel negotiations may have been stalled weeks before the war—because of the presidential elections. Lockwood Development Partners in Florida, who was active in the negotiations with the task of leasing the said hotels in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, told the Times through a representative that the firm, “referred to the cancellation of negotiations as an ethical issue that had to do with Donald J. Trump as he was getting closer to being considered the Republican nominee.” The
Lockwood rep added that “the Trump Organization didn’t want politics” to play a role in their private business affairs.
Throughout the presidential campaign the Trump organization has undertaken some new international projects, including a new tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Just this week, the Trump Organization announced a hotel and golf project in Vietnam, per the Times. The question stands, will Trump Org be able to do international business without raising the siren for ethical concerns.
“I understood the optics, as you can’t build the tallest building in Tel Aviv and try to negotiate peace in the Middle East,” Eric Trump said in an old interview. In recent interviews, however, he showed a bolder stance.
