President Trump took leave of his Arab friends in Saudi Arabia after a two-day visit and a rather ill-advised sword dance (you know what they say about children and sharp weapons), and landed on Israeli soil at Tel Aviv to meet his Jewish ones. He again seemed ill at ease, with his wife mirroring that feeling after continually batting away his hand in attempts he made to hold hers; there, that old feeling of insecurity again?
Peace Envoy?
He sees himself as very much the peace maker, saying that, 'he felt very good about his meeting with the Arab contingents,' assuring the Israeli Prime Minister that HE had, 'a rare opportunity to bring peace to the war-torn Middle-East.' Never slow in matters of self-promotion he appears to dream of the 'ultimate deal,' one where he, and he alone, brokers peace in the midst of ongoing political chaos.
He added a scintilla of humility by praising Obama's efforts with Iran, but he vowed that they would never have nuclear weapons. The one strange note was created for a reason known only to the President himself, he suddenly blurted out that at no time had he talked about, 'Israel to the Russians,' a brief pause followed before discussions moved on.
Western Wall
One of the most sacred sites in Judaism, the Western Wall, constituting of all that remains of the temple of Herod the Great, a structure all but destroyed in 70AD by the Romans, leading ultimately the Jewish diaspora. It was here that the President, the first one to do so, stopped to pay his respects. It is long been customary as a mark of humility to leave a prayer note in one of its many cracks and to silently reflect on what has gone before.
He was suitably attired in a yamulka to cover his head, as much to the Holiness of the place as the fact that his son-in-law is a Jew, and what else could he do? After berating Michelle Obama in 2015 for going bareheaded during her visit to the Saudi's, he allowed the women in his own party to follow suit? Of course, inconsistency again.
On Tuesday he goes to Bethlehem, one of Christianity's holiest places, before going on to meet Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian leader before returning to Jerusalem for further talks with Netanyahu.
One can only surmise, for we will never know, exactly what president Trump wrote on the paper placed into the wall cavity. One would hope that it was a heartfelt message for world unity and universal peace, although unfortunately, it was probably something far simpler, such as, "You know Santa, I've been a real good boy so far this year, so for Xmas, can I have a wall. A big wall. just like this one," or perhaps something simpler, "Please God, don't let the big boys get me when I go home?"
