By Amy Neustein, Ph.D.

In a nail-biting game of psychological warfare, the New York Times and their parrots in the liberal Jewish media have shamefully spun a web of deceit, causing many in the Jewish communities, both in Israel and in the diaspora, to begin to question their judgment in their unflagging support for President Trump. Promoting diffidence and insecurity among Jewish voters is exactly what the left-leaning pundits wanted to accomplish. And they craftily misused last week’s historic precedent-setting Middle East diplomatic mission as fodder for their cause.

Before Trump even took off for the Arab summit, his detractors were in full swing decrying his acceptance of Qatar’s munificent gift of a deluxe 747 aircraft to replace the 40-year old Air Force One. Declining a gift — especially in the form of such a generous offer – from a foreign state is a well-recognized taboo in diplomatic relations. This is for good reason. Refusal to accept a gift is a clear sign of rejection of the friendly overtures made by a foreign state. Even worse, failure to accept a gift would imply that the giver of the gift had ill intent because the gift would be seen retroactively as a “bribe.”

The clearer message however, lost in the chatter of the liberal press, is that Qatar, notably the principal financial backer of Hamas, in making this generous offer was extending an olive branch to Israel’s staunchest ally. Who would ever imagine that the benefactor of Hamas that had empowered them to launch the October 7, 2023 attack – the deadliest day of assault on Jews since the Holocaust – would one day come with a peace offering to the US? But instead of reveling in this historic turn of events, the leftist press tried to persuade the Jewish community that they were abandoned and betrayed once again as they have been throughout history.

While the left-of-center and progressive voices pompously engaged last week in carping and caviling wherever they could find a receptive ear, they completely ignored the reality that Trump’s forging an axis of alliance among the powerful Arab countries, and advancing the Abraham Accords which he began in his first administration, has many benefits, some of which may not be as readily observable.

For example, US in building such a powerful alliance with Arab nations could prevent Turkish reign in the Levant.  Did we not see how Erdogan, President of Turkey, immediately after the ouster of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad worked with lighting speed to gain a foothold in that region. Certainly, this placed Israel at risk. But by lifting the US sanctions on Syria last week Trump beat Turkey to the punch. Because, by offering something so sweet to Syria, Trump pushed aside his Turkish competition for Syria’s affections. This of course went unnoticed. I ask, what does it take to remove the blinders of the liberal Jewish media intent on infecting its readers with traumatic memories of historical oppression, making us feel that we are still buried under water? Are the Democrats’ political gains from bashing Trump worthy of inflicting wide scale insecurity on the Jewish community when the facts shout the opposite?

Not one voice in the liberal media could deny that Trump remains loyal to his conviction that Israel must be free of the detritus of Hamas. Now that Trump has fortified an axis of strength in the Middle East, he has ready and willing partners to finance the creation of a “freedom zone” in Gaza, administered by the US and funded by the wealth of the Arab nations. His plans for relocation of the Gazans and for the conversion of this desolate war zone into a “Riviera of the Middle East” that he announced in early February, can now come to fruition. With the support of wealthy Arab nations the US can now spearhead this mission, knowing that it can fall back on its Middle East partners who are essential for financing this multi-billion dollar project.

Trump sees the bigger picture. And that includes looking at all the regional players and how they can best work together in forming a strong and viable axis to defeat the Iranian-led axis of resistance. But he also sees the biblical picture, perhaps more strongly than any of his predecessors. He understands Israel’s existential struggle both in ancient times and today. He is wedded to the survival and strength of the Jewish state. And so should every Jewish pundit and media personality. To do anything less is to betray the Jewish community at a time when we need to keep our heads high.

Amy Neustein, Ph.D. is a sociologist who has authored/edited 16 academic books. Her most current book, From Madness to Mutiny, will be published by Oxford University Press in June 2025. Her book, Forensic Speaker Recognition: Law Enforcement and Counter-Terrorism (Springer 2011) continues to be used to train FBI agents in verifying the identity of criminal suspects.