Iran’s mullahs will be quivering
IT’S BEING hailed as the greatest upset in modern political history. But, in truth, the election of billionaire businessman Donald Trump should have come as no surprise to the careful observer.
Brewing in the heart of the United States, among the disenfranchised working class, has been a growing resentment of the country’s political elites — their arrogance, condescension, political overreach and imposed political correctness. On Tuesday, the American voter left no doubt as to who was in charge.
Among the many significant positions taken by President Barack Obama in opposition to the will of the electorate have been his stance on relations with Israel and his approach to the Iranian regime. Feeling the pressure? Ayatollah Khamenei Mr Trump has promised to change all that, and chances are that he will, significantly so. We will likely see an end to the current administration’s “deliberate daylight” policy towards the Jewish state, and the rightful return of Obama-aligned fringe groups like J-Street to the political margins. The Trump campaign has promised to respond harshly to the UN’s outrageous behaviour towards Israel, and to investigate organised anti-Israel hate groups on campus. A Trump administration is also likely to show far more respect for the will of the Israeli public on matters of peacemaking. Mr Trump’s support for the Jewish state has been consistent for almost four decades, in spite of claims to the contrary by many critics on both sides of the aisle. True, he has much to learn about the intricacies — and in some cases the basics — of Middle East geopolitics. But, as president, he will have an army of agencies at his disposal to help with the education process.
With regard to the Islamic Republic, despite bold assertions in the regime-controlled media that “we don’t really care” who the next president will be, Mr Trump’s victory undoubtedly has overwhelmed the mullahs with trepidation. Welcome news indeed. Rest assured, we will now begin to see a different, more conciliatory tone from Tehran, effective immediately.
Finally, if Mr Trump is to make good on his acceptance speech promise to “bind the wounds of division” and “come together as one united people”, his first point of call to ease the sensitivities of the US Jewish community — especially the 70 per cent who voted for Hillary Clinton — should be to allay fears over the rise of white supremacism in the US.
To be sure, though Mr Trump is no antisemite, a certain brand of parasitic Jew-hater — the cowardly kind, the kind that hides in the anonymous shadows of social media and preys on unsuspecting journalists with Jewish last names — has firmly latched onto his coat-tails. Were he to sharply kick them to the curb on his way into the Oval Office, it would lay the groundwork for a broad and constructive relationship with all major Jewish groups throughout his presidency. Dovid Efune is the editor-in-chief and director of ‘The Algemeiner’ newspaper