I’ve been covering the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, for 25 years. Never before have I seen it in such a state of ecstasy as when the president of the United States ascended the podium Monday, at the same time as the last freed, living Israeli hostage arrived in the country and embraced his family. Two years of suffering, pain, and anxiety ended in an instant.
“This is,” Trump said, “the historic dawn of a new Middle East.” The big words justified themselves this time. In a region that places great stock in symbols and perception, this Knesset session was meant to broadcast to enemies and friends alike: Here, the United States of America and the State of Israel are celebrating victory at the end of a two-year war, together.
In the several years before October 7, 2023, a weak and hostile Democratic administration distanced itself from Israel. This time—and not because there are no windows in the Knesset plenum due to security—there was no daylight between Jerusalem and Washington.
