Berl Falbaum
As we all know, President Trump loves receiving awards, even if one comes from a leader whom he not so long ago apparently considered “obsessive” and “a deep, dark son-of-a-b____.”
As Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu were briefing the media on their strategic discussions at Mar-a-Lago in Florida recently, the Israel leader informed Trump that he will be awarded the Israel Prize, the country’s highest civilian honor.
This was particularly special because the award is generally only bestowed on Israeli citizens or residents. There have been only one or two exceptions. In 1991, Zubin Mehta, a non-citizen and Indian who directed the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for decades, received the prize.
It was also noteworthy because just about a year ago when Trump was still president-elect for his second term, he distributed a video in which an economics professor at Columbia University, David Sachs, blamed Netanyahu for the Iraq War, stating:
“The guy is nothing but obsessive, and he is still trying to get us to fight Iran this day, this week. He is a deep dark son-of-a-b____ . . . sorry to tell you.”
The video probably would not have seen the light of day except that Trump posted it on his Truth Social platform (according to Wikipedia, 6.3 million monthly users), promoting a video of a man who not only called Netanyahu a s.o.b. but who accused Israel of genocide and said the U.S. was complicit. And Sachs opposed the war while Trump expressed his support in a radio interview with Howard Stern.
In explaining why Trump deserved the honor, Netanyahu gave fawning an entirely new meaning:
“President Trump has broken so many conventions [An aside: that is certainly true] to the surprise of people [Another aside: to the consternation of people] and then they figure out, oh, well, maybe you know, he was right after all [Final aside: Nope, not true.]
“So, we decided to break a convention, too, or create a new one, and that is to award the Israel Prize, which, in almost our 80 years, we never awarded it to a non-Israeli, and we are going to award it this year to President Trump.”
The prime minister probably concluded if Trump can partner with a vice president who called him “America’s Hitler,” an idiot and a cynical “a______” like Nixon, well then, he (Netanyahu) can pardon Trump for the s.o.b. insult and “pardon” seems the right word given Trump’s pardon policy.
And perhaps, just perhaps, Netanyahu, who is facing corruption charges, was expressing his gratitude to Trump for asking Israel President Isaac Herzog to pardon him. However, in Israel, unlike in the U.S., Netanyahu would have to admit guilt to qualify for a pardon.
The official announcement on the Israel Prize actually came from Education Minister Yoav Kisch in a telephone call to Mar-a-Lago. With Netanyahu holding the phone, Kisch told the president he deserved the award, citing, among other reasons, Trump’s efforts in fighting antisemitism. Huh?
The man has trafficked in antisemitism for 10 years from distributing antisemitic materials in his 2015 campaign to fraternizing at Mar-a-Lago with such antisemites as the rapper Ye and white supremacist Nick Fuentes to calling Jewish real estate business people “brutal killers…not very nice people” to inviting two Baptist pastors who believe Jews will go to Hell for their religious beliefs to deliver prayers at the ceremony moving the U.S. embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, and so much more.
The presence of the two pastors highlights the fact that Trump supports Israel not because it is a Jewish state but because Evangelicals, who believe Jesus’s second coming will be in Israel, make up much of his base. In interviews, Trump acknowledged that the Evangelical fervor for Israel affected his political motives for supporting Israel.
In the two presidential elections (2016 and 2024), Trump received 70-80 percent of the Evangelical vote and 20-30 percent of the Jewish vote. The Jewish total was, historically, a little above average for a Republican presidential candidate.
Despite this support, he stoked animus against Jews by charging that if he were to lose, it would be the fault of Jews. He also frequently invoked the antisemitic trope that Jews were guilty of dual loyalties.
Netanyahu and Kisch invited Trump to personally accept the award when Israel celebrates its Independence Day in April.
Trump, responding with his well-known modesty, said, “It was a great honor really amazing being the first one outside of Israel, it’s really something.”
Indeed, it is.
He said he looks forward to meeting Kisch, hinting that he may attend the ceremonies.
There is another disturbing implication — actually more than an implication — that Israel accepts, perhaps even endorses, all of Trump’s corruption, lies, sexual perversions, stoking an insurrection, lying about the 2020 election, violations of the Constitution, threats to the democracy, etc. After all, one would believe that integrity and honesty should be among the requirements to receive the award.
Perhaps Netanyahu did not want to play second fiddle to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), which honored Trump with its first “FIFA Peace Prize — Football Unites the World” a few weeks ago.
That award came after FIFA President Gianni Infantino and others around the world failed in their lobbying efforts to have Trump receive the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, something the president has campaigned (drooled) for.
Perhaps Netanyahu and Infantino wanted to sooth Trump’s narcissistic wounds.
Which raises the question: How many awards does it take to equal one Nobel Peace Prize?
As Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu were briefing the media on their strategic discussions at Mar-a-Lago in Florida recently, the Israel leader informed Trump that he will be awarded the Israel Prize, the country’s highest civilian honor.
This was particularly special because the award is generally only bestowed on Israeli citizens or residents. There have been only one or two exceptions. In 1991, Zubin Mehta, a non-citizen and Indian who directed the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for decades, received the prize.
It was also noteworthy because just about a year ago when Trump was still president-elect for his second term, he distributed a video in which an economics professor at Columbia University, David Sachs, blamed Netanyahu for the Iraq War, stating:
“The guy is nothing but obsessive, and he is still trying to get us to fight Iran this day, this week. He is a deep dark son-of-a-b____ . . . sorry to tell you.”
The video probably would not have seen the light of day except that Trump posted it on his Truth Social platform (according to Wikipedia, 6.3 million monthly users), promoting a video of a man who not only called Netanyahu a s.o.b. but who accused Israel of genocide and said the U.S. was complicit. And Sachs opposed the war while Trump expressed his support in a radio interview with Howard Stern.
In explaining why Trump deserved the honor, Netanyahu gave fawning an entirely new meaning:
“President Trump has broken so many conventions [An aside: that is certainly true] to the surprise of people [Another aside: to the consternation of people] and then they figure out, oh, well, maybe you know, he was right after all [Final aside: Nope, not true.]
“So, we decided to break a convention, too, or create a new one, and that is to award the Israel Prize, which, in almost our 80 years, we never awarded it to a non-Israeli, and we are going to award it this year to President Trump.”
The prime minister probably concluded if Trump can partner with a vice president who called him “America’s Hitler,” an idiot and a cynical “a______” like Nixon, well then, he (Netanyahu) can pardon Trump for the s.o.b. insult and “pardon” seems the right word given Trump’s pardon policy.
And perhaps, just perhaps, Netanyahu, who is facing corruption charges, was expressing his gratitude to Trump for asking Israel President Isaac Herzog to pardon him. However, in Israel, unlike in the U.S., Netanyahu would have to admit guilt to qualify for a pardon.
The official announcement on the Israel Prize actually came from Education Minister Yoav Kisch in a telephone call to Mar-a-Lago. With Netanyahu holding the phone, Kisch told the president he deserved the award, citing, among other reasons, Trump’s efforts in fighting antisemitism. Huh?
The man has trafficked in antisemitism for 10 years from distributing antisemitic materials in his 2015 campaign to fraternizing at Mar-a-Lago with such antisemites as the rapper Ye and white supremacist Nick Fuentes to calling Jewish real estate business people “brutal killers…not very nice people” to inviting two Baptist pastors who believe Jews will go to Hell for their religious beliefs to deliver prayers at the ceremony moving the U.S. embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, and so much more.
The presence of the two pastors highlights the fact that Trump supports Israel not because it is a Jewish state but because Evangelicals, who believe Jesus’s second coming will be in Israel, make up much of his base. In interviews, Trump acknowledged that the Evangelical fervor for Israel affected his political motives for supporting Israel.
In the two presidential elections (2016 and 2024), Trump received 70-80 percent of the Evangelical vote and 20-30 percent of the Jewish vote. The Jewish total was, historically, a little above average for a Republican presidential candidate.
Despite this support, he stoked animus against Jews by charging that if he were to lose, it would be the fault of Jews. He also frequently invoked the antisemitic trope that Jews were guilty of dual loyalties.
Netanyahu and Kisch invited Trump to personally accept the award when Israel celebrates its Independence Day in April.
Trump, responding with his well-known modesty, said, “It was a great honor really amazing being the first one outside of Israel, it’s really something.”
Indeed, it is.
He said he looks forward to meeting Kisch, hinting that he may attend the ceremonies.
There is another disturbing implication — actually more than an implication — that Israel accepts, perhaps even endorses, all of Trump’s corruption, lies, sexual perversions, stoking an insurrection, lying about the 2020 election, violations of the Constitution, threats to the democracy, etc. After all, one would believe that integrity and honesty should be among the requirements to receive the award.
Perhaps Netanyahu did not want to play second fiddle to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), which honored Trump with its first “FIFA Peace Prize — Football Unites the World” a few weeks ago.
That award came after FIFA President Gianni Infantino and others around the world failed in their lobbying efforts to have Trump receive the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize, something the president has campaigned (drooled) for.
Perhaps Netanyahu and Infantino wanted to sooth Trump’s narcissistic wounds.
Which raises the question: How many awards does it take to equal one Nobel Peace Prize?
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