The US, Ukraine and Israel
Unlike Zelenskyy, the darling of the West, Netanyahu’s been vilified and his country condemned, even by allies—including Ukraine—at the United Nations.
By Ruthie Blum
JNS
Mar 2, 2025
The collective gasp that erupted on Friday across European capitals—and echoed in certain circles in Jerusalem—was warranted. Never before had a confrontation like the one between U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office been so public, and so raw.
Even Trump couldn’t help noting at the end of the verbal brawl that it made for good television. He got that right. The exchange promptly went viral on every social-media platform.
For the past two days, analysts the world over have been weighing in on how the nearly hour-long meeting/impromptu press conference—in the presence of Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and a slew of reporters—suddenly turned sour after a very civil, even friendly, start. The argument has two parts.
One is over decorum, with Ukraine sympathizers accusing Vance of instigating an ambush that Trump enthusiastically joined. The other centers on substance—the terms and wisdom of the “peace” deal Trump is trying to broker between Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As for the first, whatever position one holds on the war in Ukraine, Zelenskyy’s behavior was totally out of line. In fact, it was he who caught his hosts by surprise and not the other way around.
Indeed, he had indicated that the purpose of his visit to the White House—at his own request, by the way—was to sign an agreement for a joint U.S.-Ukraine investment in the latter’s rare-earth mineral and other resources. But he made it clear in front of the media that it wasn’t sufficient to guarantee Kyiv’s security vis-à-vis Moscow.
Nor was this the first time in less than two weeks that Zelenskyy had pulled such a stunt with the new administration in Washington. But his cheeky insolence, sarcasm and puerile attitude toward Trump and Vance was flinch-inducing.
This isn’t to say that Putin is anything other than a malign actor or that there’s no cause for concern about Trump’s performance. Still, alarmists may be missing a broader calculation behind Trump’s seeming appeasement of the Kremlin: a realpolitik maneuver designed to lure Russia away from the China-Iran axis.
Israel, in particular, would do well to examine the strategic implications of this shift before rushing to judgment. While Ukraine’s plight is tragic, it is Jerusalem—not Kyiv—that sits at the heart of the most critical global conflict.
Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, proxies attempting to annihilate the Jewish state and deepening ties with Beijing and Moscow pose an existential threat to Israel. If Trump’s outreach to Putin results in a wedge between Russia and Iran, that’s a tradeoff worth considering.
Critics have begun warning that if Trump can turn on a U.S. ally like Ukraine, he could just as easily lose his patience with Israel, particularly if he grows impatient with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza. Perhaps, for example, he was irritated when Netanyahu didn’t take full advantage of the green light to unleash “all hell” on Hamas.
So far, though, the two leaders appear to be aligned. Over the weekend, Netanyahu and Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, agreed to hold off on the next phase of the ceasefire deal, instead extending the truce through Ramadan and Passover in an effort to secure the release of additional hostages. This, like Netanyahu’s decision on Sunday morning to halt all humanitarian aid into Gaza, was taken with Trump’s blessing.
Rubio underscored the administration’s unequivocal support by “sign[ing] a declaration to use emergency authorities to expedite the delivery of approximately $4 billion in military assistance to Israel.”
He explained, “The decision to reverse the Biden administration’s partial arms embargo, which wrongly withheld a number of weapons and ammunition from Israel, is yet another sign that Israel has no greater ally in the White House than President Trump.”
He went on, “Since taking office, the Trump administration has approved nearly $12 billion in major FMS [Foreign Military Sales] sales to Israel. This important decision coincides with President Trump’s repeal of a Biden-era memorandum which had imposed baseless and politicized conditions on military assistance to Israel at a time when our close ally was fighting a war of survival on multiple fronts against Iran and terror proxies.”
Finally, he declared, “The Trump administration will continue to use all available tools to fulfill America’s long-standing commitment to Israel’s security, including means to counter security threats.”
Contrast this with Ukraine’s predicament. Rubio was visibly frustrated with Zelensky’s inconsistent messaging after their White House meeting. Initially, the Ukrainian president indicated a willingness to consider Trump’s proposed deal—only to return home and tell the press that he had refused any such compromise.
The mixed signals not only irked the Trump administration but also weakened Ukraine’s position. As Trump bluntly put it to Zelenskyy, “You don’t have the cards.”
Rather than keeping quiet, Zelenskyy shot back, “I’m not playing cards.”
As a leader well-versed in being dealt a very bad hand, the Israeli prime minister could have set his Ukrainian counterpart straight on that score. Unlike Zelenskyy, who’s been the darling of the West, Netanyahu has been vilified throughout Israel’s multi-front, defensive war against Islamist terrorists. And his country has been condemned, even by allies—including Ukraine—at the United Nations.
If Zelenskyy wants a fighting chance with the new sheriff in town—one he openly opposed in Pennsylvania during the presidential election campaign—he needs to read the room and navigate it humbly, not show his contempt for those who “hold the cards” he wants. Otherwise, he’ll be forced to fold with no chips.
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