November 12, 2024
On November 5, 2024, Donald J. Trump was elected to be the 47th president of the United States, winning a decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. As we look ahead to the incoming administration, here are six things to know about President-Elect Trump’s record when it comes to fighting antisemitism, supporting Israel, and countering the Iranian threat. AJC is a strictly non-partisan 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization that neither supports nor opposes candidates for elective office.
Antisemitism Measures
The U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism under the Obama administration; but the Trump administration applied it more assertively when examining questions of antisemitism under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
This included holding anti-Zionists accountable. In 2019, Trump signed an executive order to combat antisemitism that made it easier to use laws that prohibit institutional discrimination against people based on race, color, and national origin to take action against religious discrimination, as well – turning up the heat on those who oppose Israel’s right to exist.
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Trump criticized universities for failing to address rising antisemitism amid pro-Hamas and anti-Israel protests on American college campuses that left many Jewish students feeling unsafe after the October 7 terror attacks. He warned that colleges allowing such antisemitic actions would face consequences, stating, "Colleges will and must end the antisemitic propaganda or they will lose their accreditation and federal support."
Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital
Less than a year into his presidency, Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and relocated the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv. This fulfilled the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, a measure passed by Congress but delayed by previous presidents until Trump implemented it in 2017.
The recognition and relocation righted a longstanding wrong, as the city of Jerusalem has been home to the Prime Minister’s office, the Knesset, and nearly all government offices since Israel’s independence 75 years ago. Nowhere else had a country’s designated capital been questioned.
Trump’s example encouraged other governments to move their embassies to Jerusalem too, including Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, and Papua New Guinea.
The Abraham Accords
In the White House Rose Garden, President Trump presided over the signing of the first Middle East peace agreement in 26 years – the historic Abraham Accords. The normalization agreement laid the groundwork for diplomatic relations between Israel and four Arab nations – the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan. More than one million people have now traveled back and forth between these countries and trade surged from next to nothing to more than $10 billion in the first three years.
In conjunction with the Abraham Accords, Israel was included in the so-called “area of responsibility” of U.S. military forces’ Central Command, which laid the foundation for a new, integrated, regional security architecture – one element of which was on display when Iran launched a barrage of missiles and drones at Israel on April 13, nearly all of which were brought down by combined Israel, American, and Arab air defense systems.
In addition to the Abraham Accords, the first Trump Administration also oversaw the Peace to Prosperity Conference, a gathering in Bahrain that focused on creating new economic opportunities for the Palestinian people, and sought to create deeper ties with Israel and the broader region. Following that conference the Trump Administration released the Trump Peace Plan, a comprehensive plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace. While the initiative was rejected by the PLO, it remains the only peace plan accepted by Prime Minister Netanyahu in recent years.
Trump stated that expanding the Abraham Accords would be a “top priority” for his administration if re-elected. In an interview with the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news channel, he claimed that he could have added to the accords “12 to 15 countries within a year” had he won the 2020 election. “If I win, that will be an absolute priority,” he emphasized, calling it “peace in the Middle East — something we need.”
The Golan Heights
In 2019, President Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, a clear sign that he understood the existential threats facing Israel.
Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967. For security purposes, Israel annexed the territory in 1981. Today, as Israel faces attacks on multiple fronts, including by Iran-backed terror groups in southern Syria, its ability to prevent the Golan Heights from serving as a potential launching ground for attacks is critical to saving the lives of Israelis.
Designated in 1979 as a State Sponsor of Terrorism, Syria has continued its political and military support to various terrorist groups, including Hezbollah, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), al-Qaeda, and ISIS. These terror groups remain present and active in the country with the permission of President Bashar al-Assad, a staunch ally of the Iranian regime.
Palestinian issues
One of the initial goals of the first Trump Administration was reaching Israeli-Palestinian peace. However, after several failed attempts to engage the Palestinian Liberation Organization, the U.S. Administration took steps to punish the Palestinians for the lack of cooperation. These punitive measures began in 2018 by closing the PLO mission in Washington, D.C. and cutting U.S. aid to the United Nations Relief and Work Agency (UNRWA). This was followed by the passage of two laws, the Taylor Force Act and the Antiterrorism Clarification Act, that made it illegal for the U.S. government to give funds that directly benefited the Palestinian people.
At the center of the Taylor Force Act and the Antiterrorism Clarification Act lays the Palestinian Authority’s long-held practice of paying stipends to terrorists, including those convicted of murder and sentenced to long prison terms, and to the families of so-called "martyrs" who died while committing acts of terror against Israelis. Still odified in Palestinian law to this day, numerous attempts have been made to stop or reform this terror payment system, including most recently by the Biden Administration.
Iran
During his first term, Trump took several significant actions against Iran. He withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) in 2018, calling it a "disastrous" agreement, and implemented a "maximum pressure" campaign, reinstating harsh economic sanctions aimed at crippling Iran's economy. These sanctions targeted key industries, including oil exports, and significantly reduced Iran's foreign currency reserves. Trump also took military actions against Iran, including the 2020 airstrike that killed top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated terror group.
Recently, Trump has sharply criticized the Biden administration’s handling of Iran, specifically blaming it for enabling the October 7 Hamas massacre. He argues that his “maximum pressure” campaign was successful in weakening Iran, pointing to its near-bankruptcy under U.S. sanctions, which prevented Iran from funding groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. "Iran was on the verge of bankruptcy... They had no money for Hamas, no money for Hezbollah,” Trump claimed during a campaign rally in October. Trump has also expressed concern over what he sees as Biden's concessions to Iran, including the release of funds and the easing of sanctions. He believes that a tougher approach, like the one he implemented, is essential to curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions and limiting its regional influence. At the same time, President-elect Trump has been hesitant to call for large-scale military actions, stating in his recent victory speech, “I’m not going to start wars, I’m going to stop wars."
