What does Trump’s shocking victory mean for America, Israel, and the world? Joel Rosenberg provides analysis on THE ROSENBERG REPORT
Why are the leaders of Iran, Russia, and Communist China terrified that Donald J. Trump is coming back to power? Why did Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu fire his defense minister, Yoav Gallant, while his country is in the midst of a war, and while Americans were still casting their ballots?
Following a report last week that a senior official in the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in possession of a video apparently used in an attempt to blackmail an IDF officer, ALL ISRAEL NEWS Editor-in-Chief Joel Rosenberg broke down the two most dramatic stories of the past week in the latest episode of his weekly program, THE ROSENBERG REPORT on TBN.
Rosenberg noted that both stories that Israelis woke up to on Wednesday morning, have profound implications for U.S., Israeli, and Middle East peace and security.
“The tyrants of the world are on edge. They know Trump is strong,” he said. “They didn't dare test him in the first four years of the Trump administration. But once Biden-Harris came into power, they're like, let's move. So, the Russians invaded Ukraine, the Iranians invaded Israel and all hell broke loose.”
What's next for Iran?
“The guy who is shaking in his boots the most over this is the supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei,” Rosenberg claimed. “Because Khamenei tried to assassinate Trump, and he tried to assassinate Benjamin Netanyahu and now those two men are in power.”
The question is how the two leaders plan to act against Iran next, and what could happen between now and by the time President Trump takes office.
According to Rosenberg, while there have been frictions between Trump and Netanyahu over the years, they overall have a healthy, solid relationship and “want to work together.” They spoke a few times recently, and the prime minister was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Trump after his big victory in the elections.
Another question Rosenberg floated is how Iranian leadership will respond going forward, given the fact its Supreme Leader has been threatening to launch another massive attack on Israel.
“Will he now follow through, knowing that Bibi knows that Trump is coming in?" Rosenberg wondered. “I think it's possible that Netanyahu launches a much larger attack against Iran, maybe to take out the Iranian regime… How does he finish the war in Gaza? How does he finish the war in Lebanon?”
“How does he get it done by the time Donald Trump takes the oath of office in late January? Because Trump has signaled, he doesn't want wars to be happening on his watch. He wants to bring an end to wars. So, this gives Netanyahu and the Israeli military a window to operate - to finish this thing once and for all,” he added.
Does Trump consider Ukraine an ally?
The implications of Trump’s re-election for the war between Russia and Ukraine are significant. The 45th and 47th U.S. president has repeatedly said throughout his election campaign that he would try to reach an end to the conflict even before taking office, during the transition time.
“Trump has been a little hard to pin down, but skeptical of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and not sure that he wants to keep funding and arming Ukraine to defeat the Russians. So, Putin has got to be on edge,” said Rosenberg. “He knows Trump is strong and he knows that Trump wants to end wars. That could mean an acceleration of arms and aid to Ukraine for a while to get this thing over.”
Nonetheless, Joel noted that Trump’s Vice President-elect, JD Vance, “does not see Ukraine as an ally.”
‘The communist Chinese have also got to be worried’
As for China, it is no secret that they want to invade Taiwan.
“But now with Trump coming in, this changes the calculus,” Rosenberg said. “When the Chinese saw Biden and Harris as weak as snowflakes, they were much more likely to get ready to invade Taiwan. Now, with Trump, they've got to rethink their calculations. They've got to recalculate.”
Rosenberg’s next novel, ‘The Beijing Betrayal’ revolves around this tension.
Voters who want to see more U.S. support for Israel overwhelmingly supported Trump
Most Israelis are very satisfied with the results of the U.S. elections. Polls have shown that 66% of Israelis wanted Trump to win and only 17% supported Kamala Harris for U.S. president.
“Israelis could see four years of Trump and they saw four years of Biden-Harris and it wasn't hard to pick,” Rosenberg explained.
While many in the country didn’t agree or like his every tweet or statement, they are well aware of the successful Trump administration record in the region. It includes moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, cutting funding for the UN's Relief and Works Refugee Agency (UNRWA) and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), telling the world that Jerusalem is Israel's rightful capital, recognizing the Golan Heights as Israeli territory, brokering the Abraham Accords peace deals and pulling out of the bad nuclear deal (JCPOA) with Iran.
“They didn't buy Kamala Harris's closing argument that Trump was crazy and anti-Semitic and racist and a fascist dictator,” he added.
In accordance with the tendency in Israel, Rosenberg noted that Americans who want to see more U.S. support for Israel overwhelmingly voted for Trump, according to exit polls published by NBC News. That includes 81% of the Evangelical Christian vote – the same percentage he won in 2016.
‘Netanyahu's numbers may sink’
The second huge story of the week in Israel was Netanyahu’s firing of Defense Minister Yoav Gallant due to ongoing “disagreements.”
In that context, Rosenberg said: “If you lose confidence in your defense minister, it's hard to prosecute and win a war. So, I believe Netanyahu has the right to do that. But I think the Israeli people are not going to respond to this well.”
Backing up Joel’s analysis, recent polls have shown that most Israelis oppose Gallant’s dismissal. However, the same polls found that Netanyahu’s Likud party would continue to gather the most votes if elections were held now. Meaning, Netanyahu’s base supports the move.
“I'm not sure exactly how this is going to play, but I think Netanyahu's numbers may sink. They have been rising in recent months as people see Netanyahu winning this war. But firing Gallant - I don't think that's going to be seen well in the Israeli public, and it comes at a very dangerous moment,” Rosenberg concluded.
Watch Joel’s full analysis on the TBN website.
THE ROSENBERG REPORT airs Thursday nights at 9 p.m. EST and Saturday nights at 10:00 p.m. EST – on the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the most-watched Christian television network in the United States.
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.