From The Frontlines of The Abraham Accords

Jason Greenblatt served as the White House Middle East Envoy under President Trump. He was the US Special Representative for International Negotiations from 2017 to 2019, playing a pivotal role in crafting the Trump administration's Middle East peace plan. Greenblatt was heavily involved in US efforts to broker peace between Israel and its neighbors and was instrumental in the development of the Abraham Accords.

You can find his book here, and can read his newsletter here. This interview was edited for clarity.

Ari: Democrats want to portray themselves as having done everything they possibly can on Israel, including being steadfast allies. How would you refute the way they've dealt with Israel, and can you highlight any mistakes they've made?

Jason: I think people need to listen to their language very carefully. If someone says they're a strong Israel supporter but then starts lecturing them or telling Israel what it's doing wrong, they're not a strong supporter. They think they know better than Israel.

It's okay to criticize Israel and say it makes mistakes, but to demand things from Israel as if you know better? I respect Congress, but who knows better — the prime minister of Israel or someone in Congress?

Yes, members of Congress have access to intelligence, but they only know a sliver of what the prime minister knows. Political types often say things that sound nice, but in the end, they just want Israel to fit their vision. That’s not what Israel is. Israel is not America.

Ari: There are a lot of people talking about its current actions without effectively capturing what the ideal Israel-America relationship should look like. What should a future Trump administration's relationship with Israel look like?

Jason: The relationship should be one of trust, friendship, and America offering help when needed, but that doesn’t mean putting American boots on the ground. Israel doesn’t want that. We can’t second-guess Israel.

We should understand what they're doing, offer guidance and advice, but ultimately, it’s Israel’s decision on how to prosecute the war in Gaza or how to deal with Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Iranian regime that controls them all. I think the difference is that we’d offer much less criticism and more friendly advice.

We’d fully recognize that Israel has no choice but to finish this war against Hamas. Israel didn’t ask for it. And we would recognize that Israel cannot ignore the Hezbollah threat.

Under a Trump administration, there really would be no daylight between the US and Israel. I think President Biden did many important, positive things for Israel since October 7, but he has also made serious mistakes. I think under a Trump administration there really would be no daylight between the US and Israel.

Ari: We just heard that Secretary of State Antony Blinken wouldn’t return in a future Kamala Harris administration. If she becomes president, do you think anything changes? Biden has been described as a Zionist — does that carry over to her?

Jason: It's tough to answer because Kamala hasn’t said much worthwhile in terms of policy — nothing substantial on Israel other than platitudes. She tries way too hard to make her language balanced but that is usually a big alarm bell to me, suggesting she really doesn’t understand the issues. I doubt she’s as pro-Israel as President Biden.

Kamala appears to be catering to people who are anti-Israel, and that’s concerning. We’ve seen it on college campuses — when she doesn’t condemn the protests as she should, it’s clear she’s unaware of the deeper issues or their motives. She has a lot to learn on this.

Ari: Tim Walz has made comments about understanding the protesters and has had ties to people linked to Hamas. What’s your take on his policy?

Jason: It’s scary stuff. It’s pure political play and it’s dangerous. It’s like a parent giving a spoiled child more candy to stop a tantrum — it doesn’t fix the problem, it deepens it. Walz is feeding into dangerous rhetoric, and he needs to be educated on the reality of the situation.

Ari: Before October 7, Americans were following the internal strife in Israel, especially the right-wing growth and judicial reform debates. Biden took a heavy hand, saying, “Democracy is on the line” in Israel. After all of this, do you think Trump would handle those domestic issues differently?

Jason: That was one of Biden’s mistakes — saying democracy was on the line in Israel, whatever the exact quote was. No, it wasn’t. It’s no different than here. We go through problems too, so don’t lecture Israel.

Trump wouldn’t lecture Israel. He’d recognize the protests were significant, but ultimately, it’s an internal Israeli matter. It’s not our business. Israel isn’t a vassal state of the United States.

Ari: You worked with Trump for many years, even before his administration. Can you speak a little about his personality traits and how he became one of the most pro-Israel presidents? How did he make those tough decisions that others were afraid of?

Jason: I worked with him for 20 years before the White House. He always asks for input, processes it, and makes a decision. He’s not afraid to make tough calls, even if it means getting skewered by the press. He’s not a politician, and he wants to do what’s right. He’s willing to buck the trends.

Take the Jerusalem decision — it had been US law since the mid-90s, but every president backed down because they were scared of the consequences. I sat through meetings of people saying we would start World War III, but Trump knew it was nonsense and did what was historically right.

People may not like how he speaks or his social media posts, but judge him by his actions and accomplishments. His record is clear from four years of his accomplishments.