U.S. President Donald Trump’s Middle East policies, especially his unbridled support for Israel, are likely to hurt Jews worldwide, Israeli historian Ilan Pappe told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview.
“Outside Israel, the only people who are pro-Israel are those who stand against justice and support racism,” said Pappe, director of the European Center for Palestine Studies at the U.K.’s Exeter University.
“It’s good for Israel to have Trump, but he’s very bad for Jews all over the world,” he added.
“I tell the Israeli Jews: Now you think Zionism is good for you because you are the privileged ones,” Pappe said. “But in the long run, it will be bad for you.”
Regarding Trump’s so-called “Deal of the Century”, a backchannel U.S. Mideast peace plan, Pappe said: “Trump has driven the last nail into the coffin of the two-state solution. This will be better understood once we know the terms of the deal.”
Details of the “Deal of the Century” remain vague. But according to recent statements by U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, the plan would give Israel significant parts of the West Bank that are considered “occupied territory” under international law.
“Some people, especially those in the occupied West Bank, wrongly believe that a two-state solution would end Israel’s control over the land,” Pappe said.
“But they will soon realize this isn’t the case,” he added. “We’re dealing with an apartheid state [i.e., Israel] all over historical Palestine.”