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Republican frontrunner Donald Trump's speech tonight at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)'s policy conference seemed to do away with any claims of Trump's "neutrality" towards Israel.
is trump running for president of the united states or the prime minister of Israel?
— Seth (@blurrysxntience) March 21, 2016
He began by slamming the Iran nuclear deal, saying the U.S. "rewarded the world's leading state sponsor of terror with $150 billion, and we received nothing in return.
"I've studied this issue in great detail, I would say greater by far than anybody else. Believe me. And it's a bad deal."
Trump, who has recently come under criticism for his foreign policy experience, said that in "Gaza, Iran is supporting Hamas and Islamic Jihad," even though Shia Iran and Sunni Hamas and Islamic Jihad have broken ranks over differences in allegiance in the Syrian Civil War.
"With President Obama in his final year—Yay!" Trump said to to roaring applause. "He may be the worst thing to ever happen to Israel, believe me."
Trump said that the U.S. must use a veto against any UN Security Council resolution that might try to force the Israelis to come to a deal concerning the question of Palestine: "That's not how you make a deal."
"To make a great deal, you need two willing participants. We know Israel is willing. Israel has been trying to sit down at the negotiating table without preconditions, for years," Trump said. Israel has announced two major land grabs in the occupied West Bank this week.
Trump slamming Palestinians, Iran, United Nations, Obama. AIPAC crowd loving every second of it.
— Yousef Munayyer (@YousefMunayyer) March 21, 2016
"Every single day, you have rampant incitement, and children being taught to hate the Jews...it has to stop, Trump continued, singling out Palestinian society. By saying their "heroes are the people who kill the Jews. We can't let this happen any longer."
Trump said that schools and textbooks in Palestine "teach hate," something that Israel does not do, even though numerous reports have shown this to be untrue.
Further disparaging Palestinians, Trump said that "half of Palestine has been taken over by the Palestinian ISIS, Hamas", disregarding the wide differences in ideology between the Islamist rulers of Gaza and extremist of the Islamic State.
He ended his speech, referring to his daughter Ivanka. "And my daughter Ivanka is about to have a beautiful Jewish baby," he said as the audience howled and whistled with approval.
Trump has thus far been considered as the most objective contestant concerning Israel-Palestine in 2016's race for the Republican nomination. His speech tonight is being discussed as a means of dissuading any doubts about his stance on the issue.
Only before the pro-Israel lobby is Donald Trump afraid to go off script.
— Yousef Munayyer (@YousefMunayyer) March 21, 2016
The only candidate not to address AIPAC was Bernie Sanders, who applied his economic justice platform to the Palestinians, saying that the high levels of poverty and unemployment in the besieged Gaza Strip cannot be ignored when making good policy
Sanders pledged that as president, he would work tirelessly for peace in Israel, but achieving that means being a good friend “not only to Israel, but to the Palestinian people.”
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