Trump Concludes Middle East Tour with Visit to Abrahamic Family House, Eyes Gaza Transformation and Interfaith Unity

By: Ariella Haviv

President Donald Trump concluded his high-stakes Middle East tour on Friday with a landmark visit to the Abrahamic Family House in Abu Dhabi, a sprawling interfaith complex comprising a mosque, a church, and the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue—each symbolizing a commitment to mutual respect and religious tolerance. As reported by The Jewish News Syndicate (JNS), the visit was a defining moment of Trump’s regional mission, highlighting his administration’s continuing emphasis on interfaith cooperation, peace-building, and economic diplomacy.

During his tour of the synagogue, President Trump was accompanied by Emirati officials and religious representatives who walked him through the symbolic and architectural design of the Abrahamic Family House. Writing in the guest book at the Moses Ben Maimon Synagogue, Trump called the visit “amazing” and offered a deeply reflective message.

“The Abrahamic Family House stands as a sacred and powerful testament to the vision of the Middle East shared by the United States of America and the United Arab Emirates,” Trump wrote. “I see in this house the promise for our future if humanity chooses cooperation over conflict, friendship over enmity, prosperity over poverty, and hope over despair.”

The JNS report emphasized the broader significance of the visit, noting that Trump’s presence at the Abrahamic Family House aligned with his administration’s role in facilitating the Abraham Accords in 2020, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab states. His visit to the synagogue was not only a symbolic affirmation of Jewish presence in the Gulf but also a continuation of Trump’s legacy in advancing religious coexistence.

While in Abu Dhabi, Trump spoke candidly about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza. “We’re looking at Gaza. And we’re going to get that taken care of. A lot of people are starving. … There’s a lot of bad things going on,” he stated.

The day prior, speaking at a high-profile business summit in Doha, Qatar, Trump floated a bold proposal: transforming Gaza into a “freedom zone” with direct U.S. involvement. “Gaza’s been a territory of death and destruction for many years,” he told attendees. “And, you know, I have concepts for Gaza that I think are very good. Make it a freedom zone. Let the United States get involved and make it just a freedom zone.”

Expanding on the idea, Trump continued: “They’d be proud to have the United States have it, take it, make it a freedom zone, let some good things happen, put people in homes where they can be safe. And Hamas is going to have to be dealt with.”

JNS reported that Trump’s remarks sparked interest among regional stakeholders, particularly due to their ambitious scope and potential to realign the post-conflict trajectory of Gaza. While critics questioned the logistical and political challenges of such an undertaking, proponents noted that Trump’s direct approach reflected his administration’s tendency to bypass traditional diplomatic channels in favor of bold, actionable proposals.

The humanitarian angle was echoed by UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who stressed the urgency of ending the hostage crisis in Gaza. Speaking to Fox News, the foreign minister stressed: “First, getting the hostages out, we need calm in Gaza, and we need an authority that is not Hamas that controls Gaza. If we can provide citizens ideas, we are always here to do so.”

The report on JNS highlighted the UAE’s increasingly vocal stance in regional diplomacy, including its advocacy for a post-Hamas governance framework in Gaza and its readiness to support international humanitarian and reconstruction efforts.

On the broader geopolitical front, Trump also used his regional visit to indicate progress on a long-term diplomatic resolution with Iran. “We’re in very serious negotiations” with Iran for long-term peace, he said, a statement that marks a notable shift from his earlier maximum-pressure campaign during his first term.

The Trump administration’s re-engagement with Iran is being closely watched by Israeli officials, many of whom remain deeply skeptical of any arrangement that permits Tehran to retain its nuclear enrichment capabilities, as was noted in the JNS report. Nonetheless, Trump’s rhetoric suggested a careful balancing act—offering negotiation while remaining rhetorically tough on the regime’s support for terrorism and regional destabilization.

Beyond diplomacy, Trump’s tour also yielded significant economic outcomes. According to the information in the JNS report, one of the marquee announcements came from the UAE, which pledged a staggering $1.4 trillion investment in the United States’ artificial intelligence sector over the next decade. The agreement includes extensive partnerships with major American tech firms and will bolster domestic AI infrastructure, R&D, and workforce training.

The investment is part of a broader economic framework Trump has been cultivating with Gulf allies, who view American leadership as a key stabilizing force amid increasing regional volatility. In addition to the UAE deal, Trump previously announced during stops in Saudi Arabia and Qatar that his administration had secured upwards of $1.2 trillion in economic commitments across defense, technology, and infrastructure.

According to the JNS report, the trip also included closed-door meetings regarding the future of Syria and Iran’s entrenchment there, with Trump pushing for renewed international pressure on the Assad regime and backing Israeli efforts to counter Iranian expansionism.

As Trump departed the Gulf, the report concluded that his visit reflected a multidimensional strategy—part diplomatic mission, part humanitarian initiative, and part economic tour de force. Yet it was his visit to the Abrahamic Family House that stood out as the emotional and philosophical cornerstone of the journey.

President Trump’s Middle East tour closed on a note of optimism, but as the JNS report noted, the weeks ahead will determine whether his ambitious proposals—from a Gaza “freedom zone” to a nuclear détente with Iran—gain traction or remain aspirational. Either way, his visit has already set a new benchmark for engagement in a region long defined by conflict, but now increasingly shaped by possibilities.