The shameful surrender agreement signed by Trump at the Palace of Versailles (much like another failed agreement signed there nearly 100 years ago) has completely reshaped Trump’s narrative and image within Israeli society and the global Jewish community. From Israel’s savior—moving the embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing sovereignty over the Golan Heights, returning hostages, the bold leader who stood with Israel in two battles vs Iran and supported Israel even at the cost of domestic political backing—Trump has become the fearful president who turned tactical victory into strategic defeat; a Western leader who failed to understand the Middle East, who surrendered to a terrorist state precisely at the peak of its weakness, when it was economically and politically strangled.

If there is one positive outcome of Trump’s actions, it is the unification of the Israeli left and right against him. The consensus around him in Israel has perhaps never been clearer. The disappointment—and sense of insult—toward the so-called “Israel’s greatest friend,” once considered for lighting a torch on Yom Haatzmaut, for the Israel Prize, for the Presidential Medal of Honor, for IDF commendation, and for Israel’s “good governance award,” is immense, almost incomprehensible.

Trump’s sharp and embarrassing turn is another stone in a structure that has already been proving, time and again, that Israel’s dependence on the United States can serve both as salvation and as a liability. When Trump wants to—we can defeat Hamas in Gaza, return the hostages, devastate southern Lebanon, maintain operational control in Syria, rain fire on Iran, and reshape the Middle East. And when he does not want to, our hands are tied, the lives of northern Israelis are left exposed, and Israel is once again facing the Iranian threat.

In Israel, this American humiliation was received with deep disappointment. For many segments of the public, the United States is perceived as an almost absolute strategic partner—sometimes even the sole anchor of political and military security. When........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)