Donald Trump has announced that his planned trip to Israel has been postponed until “after I become President”.
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Trump tweeted Thursday that he is postponing the trip, which had become problematic for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Late Wednesday, Netanyahu moved to contain any potential controversy, saying he rejected Trump’s comments about Muslims and that Israel “respects all religions”. He said he meets all presidential candidates who visit the country, and the meeting does not represent an endorsement of Trump.
But when an array of Republican leaders criticized his Muslim remarks virtually en masse, Trump warned he may launch a third party campaign.
Trump has roiled the GOP over his call for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States following the mass shooting by a jihadist couple that killed 14 people in San Bernardino, Calif. Almost a fifth of Israel’s citizens are Muslim Arabs, and getting too close to Trump could risk triggering renewed accusations of racism.
The flap over Trump’s comments and planned visit to Israel comes as Israeli President Reuven Rivlin was set to meet President Barack Obama in Washington on Wednesday.
Mr Trump confirmed the postponement in an interview on Fox News.
Though he didn’t lay out specifics, Trump said he’d know within six months of taking office whether he would be able to broker a peace deal, adding that the chances for a durable resolution rest with Israel.
Many American Jews also slammed Trump last week after speaking to a group of Jewish donors and refusing to endorse Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. “At the same time, Israel is fighting against militant Islam that targets Muslims, Christians and Jews alike and threatens the entire world”, the statement said. “Yet to receive him without condemning his recent prejudicial remarks about Muslims would have been unconscionable for the Jewish state and its 20 percent Muslim minority”, said Oren, who now serves in Netanyahu’s government as a lawmaker for the Kulanu party. “You want to control your own politician”. “I would say lots of different reasons, I could have done it, it was semi-scheduled”.
But the Trump visit had already stirred strong opposition in Israel, with a range of lawmakers opposing it because of his comments about Muslims.
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“I mean, did you ever hear of a Republican leading by 20 and 22 and 25 points, and all of a sudden I’m going to say ‘Oh, I’m going to return as an independent?’ It doesn’t work that way”.
