From the Liveblog of
Monday, March 10, 2025
Trump Arab aide meets with settler leader in bid to boost standing with Israeli right
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump’s Arab and Mideast affairs adviser Massad Boulos met with a settler leader over the weekend, apparently part of a broader attempt to boost his image among the Israeli right.
Boulos was one of Trump’s first appointments after his election — a demonstration of gratitude after the Lebanon-born businessman was credited with playing an integral role in rallying Arab Americans behind Trump during the presidential campaign.
Boulos’s background drew some alarm among the Israeli far right, who also pointed to his comments backing Trump’s 2020 peace plan, which envisioned the establishment of a Palestinian state — albeit semi-contiguous and sub-sovereign.
In a meeting last week with the leaders of an Israeli think tank, Boulos reportedly maintained that his views on Israel have been misunderstood and that he deeply supports the Jewish state’s security as well as Trump’s Gaza takeover plan.
https://twitter.com/robertgrabil/status/1898859360924692664
Over the weekend, Boulos also met with Samaria Regional Council chair Yossi Dagan, whom he called “the governor of Samaria.”
“It’s a big pleasure and an honor to have met you. I would like to convey through you my heartfelt appreciation to the people of Samaria and our brothers and sisters in the region — in Israel, in Lebanon and in the entire region,” Boulos says in a video posted by Dagan — one of the most hardline Israeli settler leaders in the West Bank.
“We are looking forward to peace, and we are aiming for peace. By the grace of God, this will be achieved hopefully soon,” adds Boulos, whose son Michael is married to Trump’s daughter Tiffany.
“God sent us to work together,” Dagan can be heard saying in response.
Despite his title, Boulos has had limited involvement in the administration’s Mideast policy, according to sources familiar with the matter. Even the Lebanon file has gone to deputy Mideast envoy Morgan Ortagus, and not Boulos, who was born there and has ties with various political factions in the country.
Earlier today, the Semafor news site reported that Trump is set to name Boulos as his special envoy for the Great Lakes region in East Africa.
The Times of Israel Community.