TRUMP PRESIDENCY
President Donald Trump wears a black skullcap Monday as he visits the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, becoming the first sitting American president to do so.
JERUSALEM — President Donald Trump solemnly placed a note in the ancient stones of Jerusalem’s Western Wall on Monday, sending a signal of solidarity to an ally he’s pushing to work harder toward peace with the Palestinians. But his historic gesture and his enthusiastic — embrace of Israel’s leader — were shadowed even here by reminders of Trump’s tumult back home In this second stop on his
maiden foreign trip, Trump unexpectedly offered a new defense of his disclosure of classified information to Russian diplomats in a recent Oval Office meeting. Standing alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he argued he never men- tioned Israel, the source of the classified intelligence, according to various officials — something he has not been accused of doing.
“I never mentioned the word or the name Israel,” he told reporters. “So you have another story wrong.”
The moment was an abrupt interruption of an otherwise warm and smooth welcome for Trump to the Holy Land. After years of butting heads with Trump’s predecessor, Netanyahu cele- brated a new American pres- ident’s arrival as a moment of hope in the stalled peace talks between Israel and Palestinians. Trump, arriving from Saudi Arabia, declared he saw the possibility of new alignment of Muslim nations and Israel against a shared foe — Iran.
“There is a growing realization among your Arab neighbors that they have common cause with you in the threat posed by Iran,” he said, at a welcome meeting with Pres- ident Rueven Rivlin.
T he White House has said it doesn’t expect any sort of breakthrough on the peace process on this trip. But Trump’s unconventional approach to diplomacy has raised hopes that he may be well-positioned to jumpstart talks bogged down by
entrenched interests and ancient enmity.
Welcoming Trump, Net- anyahu said, “I also look forward to working closely with you to advance peace in our region, because you have noted so succinctly that common dangers are turn
ing former enemies into partners.”
“It won’t be simple,” Netanyahu said. “But for the first time in many years — and, Mr. President, for the first time in my lifetime — I see a real hope for change.”
Trump is to travel today to Bethlehem to visit with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank. He’ll later to lay a wreath at the Yad Vashem, a Holo- caust memorial, and deliver a speech at the Israeli Museum.
Trump’s visit was laden with religious symbolism. He toured the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre, which by Christian tradition is where Jesus was crucified and the location of his tomb. Wearing a black skullcap, he became the first sitting president to visit the Western Wall in Jeru- salem’s Old City, the most
holy site at which Jews can pray.
Trump was joined by first lady Melania Trump, his sonin-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump. The family was separated by gender. The president and Kush- ner visited one side, while the first daughter and first lady visited a portion of the site reserved for women. Trump approached alone and placed his hand on the stone.
The visit raised questions about whether the U.S. would indicate the site is Israeli territory. The U.S. has never recognized Israeli sovereignty over parts of the Old City seized in the 1967 war.
The White House strug- gled to answer the question. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley declared the site part of Israel, while Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Monday dodged.
“The wall is part of Jerusalem,” he said, declaring only an undeniable fact accepted by all sides. Trump never commented. The president did step into another fraught subject: his recent disclosure of classi- fied information to Russian diplomats, seemingly violating an intelligence-shar- ing agreement with Israel.
Netanyahu played it down, saying that U.S.-Israeli intel- ligence cooperation is “terrific” while attempting to dismiss concerns that the incident violated a confidentiality agreement. But it was another stark reminder for the president that his troubles at home, including the investigation of his ties to Russia and his firing of FBI Director James Comey, have followed him across the ocean on his multi-na- tion journey.
Gulf Arab countries long have been suspicious about Iran, and the Obama administration’s nuclear negotia- tions furthered their worries about Iran’s regional intentions.
Trump is seeking to ease concerns that his policies won’t be as beneficial to Israel as once believed. He
has taken a tougher line on settlements than Israeli offi- cials had expected, urging restraint though not calling for a full halt to construction. Trump has also retreated from a campaign pledge to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jeru - salem, bending to the sam e
diplomatic concerns as oth er presidents.