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Posted on 01/01/2026 5:09:08 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
Witkoff and Kushner on one side, Rubio and Huckabee on the other: beneath the surface, the US administration is divided over who should be Israel's next prime minister…
There was one moment in the Knesset speech on the day the war ended that particularly troubled Likud. It happened when the president spontaneously praised Yair Lapid. "He's a nice guy," he said to Netanyahu — and then jabbed the prime minister: "You don't need to be so tough now that the war is over."
Was this a hint that the president intends, God forbid, to adopt neutrality in the upcoming election campaign?
There are precedents. Netanyahu, as we recall, hung a giant poster of himself with Trump on the side of the Ze'ev Fortress, the Likud HQ, during the 2019 campaign. Yet the American president at the time made sure to invite Netanyahu's direct rival, Benny Gantz, to the White House as well — much to the fury of the Prime Minister's Office…
The reason is that, then as now, a quiet struggle is taking place inside the White House over Netanyahu.
Jared Kushner, for example, is far from an enthusiastic supporter of the prime minister. Steve Witkoff holds an even more negative view of him. One can reasonably assume that the sharp (and in hindsight very inaccurate) briefings against Netanyahu ahead of this week's meeting in Mar-a-lago came from those quarters. There are powerful figures in the American administration who would very much like to see a different Israeli prime minister — for personal reasons as well as ideological ones.
But even larger parts of the administration — Secretary of State Rubio, Defense Secretary Hegseth, Ambassador Huckabee, and others — remain full-on Likudniks, if not further to the right of it. And where does Trump stand?
(Excerpt) Read more at israelhayom.com ...
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Happy New Year ping!
I believe POTUS supports Netanyahu right now but in the end it will be about what serves Mr. Trump’s interests best.
Two-month deadline for Hamas in Gaza to disarm playing for more time hoping to get some sort of deal for Bibi with Israel’s president a plea bargain a way out to let Bennett in?
I read about feelers from Bibi’s camp to President Herzog for ‘plea deal’ talks on the corruption charges.
What does Ivanka think? That's the question.
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff are Jewish, so their POV should carry more weight.
I don’t buy this
Ynet News (Israel) also covering:
Trump allies closely track Israeli polls ahead of possible Netanyahu-Bennett showdown
US officials aligned with President Trump request weekly election surveys from Israeli contacts, focusing on top contenders and rising far-right figures; interest grows as Bennett reenters political arena and calls for inquiry into Oct. 7 failures.
https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1dltimzbg
Will the Israeli people be allowed any say in this? Or is democracy too important to be left to the general public?
Ah geez, we should stay the heck out of their elections. I would hope they do the same regarding the US.
It never plays out that way in real life IMHO.
💯
This guy Jeremy on his page “Knesset Insider” keeps regular track of polling of the Israeli public:
Latest (Dec 28, 2025)
“Israeli Polls Indicate a Political Shift in the National Leadership Landscape”
https://knessetjeremy.com/2025/12/28/israeli-polls-indicate-a-political-shift-in-the-national-leadership-landscape/
I could and it should.
Saul Alinsky did not orchestrate the Abraham Accords nor the release of hostages from Hamas. Witkoff and Kushner deserve major props for what they did. They put their heart and soul into it.
Hostage families say they conveyed ‘deep appreciation’ during Witkoff, Kushner meeting 🙏
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hostage-families-say-they-conveyed-deep-appreciation-during-witkoff-kushner-meeting/
Well we’ll see what happens
But no need to ping me to this
Still....
Happy New Year! 🎆🎊🎇🎈🎈🎈🎉🎉🎊🎊
It looks to me like we intervened to save Hamas.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/yesh-atids-lipman-gives-up-us-citizenship-to-serve-in-knesset/
...Israel’s Basic Law requires that a Knesset member with a second citizenship do “everything required on his part to be released from such citizenship.”
Lipman is not the only future MK to have to give up a second citizenship. Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett, the son of American immigrants, will also have to surrender his US passport before swearing into office...
...Bennett didn’t back down from this position, even after the State Department attacked him for it. Over the Biden administration’s objections, he has continued the policy of demolishing illegally built Palestinian structures in Area C of the West Bank and agreed to legalize the Evyatar outpost.
These West Bank steps are an extension of his predecessor’s policies and in keeping with Bennett’s, which are to the Right of Netanyahu...
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