Settlers with US citizenship hope to see Trump back in the White House
Reflecting opinion of most Israelis, dual citizens in West Bank say ex-president won’t pressure Jerusalem to compromise with Iran and its proxies, unlike his Democratic rival
Less than a week before the United States chooses its next president, many American citizens living in Israel’s West Bank settlements know exactly who they hope it will be: Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Recent polls show that a majority of Israelis, 66 percent according to Channel 12, want the former US president back in the White House. That support is even higher in settlements, particularly among those dual citizens who can vote in the US.
Trump strongly supported Israel during his previous term, moving the American embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights and helping to normalize ties between Israel and several Arab states under the so-called Abraham Accords.
Now, many Israelis believe Trump will offer yet more support as the country battles Iran-backed terror groups in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as Iran itself.
“I’m proud to tell you that I voted for President Trump,” Eliana Passentin, 50, who moved to Israel from San Francisco as a child, told AFP.
Passentin, a mother and grandmother, has lived for the past 29 years in Eli, part of a cluster of Israeli settlements located in the heart of the West Bank.
Israel has controlled the West Bank since 1967. A two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could see much of the territory become sovereign Palestinian territory.
‘Our greatest ally’
Passentin is employed by the local regional council.
She recalls how successive administrations in Washington pressured Israel to stop expanding settlements in an attempt to mediate peace between Israelis and Palestinians and reach a two-state solution.
“United States of America, our greatest ally, we thank you, but please understand we know how to run our country,” Passentin told AFP.
In her backyard, with sweeping views of the entire area, Passentin pointed to nearby Israeli and Palestinian towns.
“I don’t think that Israelis living here are an obstacle to peace. On the contrary, I think that the Israelis living here are building the region for everyone,” she said.
Passentin noted that the region had been a hub for Jews in Biblical times, and argued that Israelis have a right to live here under international agreements — even though much of the international community considers the settlements illegal.
Among Israelis who voted for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling right-wing coalition, 93 percent support Trump’s candidacy, the Channel 12 poll showed.
According to Passentin, “Things have changed since October 7, [2023,]” when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists stormed southern Israel to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
“Now it’s a whole different story — it’s not about Judea and Samaria, it’s about Israel,” she said, using the Biblical names for areas that correspond roughly with the West Bank’s south and north, respectively.
“We have a right to defend ourselves,” said Passentin, “and I think President Trump respects and understands that.”
Gedaliah Blum, 45, a neighbor who was born in New Jersey, also said he voted for Trump based on the question of “what kind of future we want to have here in Israel.”
“Do we want a future that has an embargo threatened on Israel every time we defend ourselves?” he asked.
“Trump is not going to pressure Israel to sign a ceasefire that will let Hamas remain in power in Gaza. They’re not going to push Israel to sign a peace agreement with Lebanon that will allow Hezbollah to remain in power,” said Blum.
But if US Vice President Kamala Harris takes the White House, he said, Israel will be under constant pressure to make nice with the terror groups.
“We’re going to get pressure, we’re going to get embargoes, we’re going to get Iranian money in their pockets. It’s not in the best interest of Israel.”
In the nearby settlement of Shiloh, where an estimated 20 percent of residents hold US citizenship, New York-born Yisrael Medad, 77, said he believed Trump would be good not only for America but also for “America’s friends abroad, including Israel.”
“I think the policies that a Republican candidate such as Trump are promoting are most beneficial for the administration, Congress and the American people,” he said.
On Israel, Medad said he believed that Trump would treat Israel more “fairly in terms of not denying its rights to defend itself… not only in a physical sense but also on the ideological front.”
Referring to a recent incident at a Democratic campaign rally in which Harris did not push back against a demonstrator who said Israel was committing a “genocide” in Gaza, Medad said: “That’s not the type of candidate I want in the White House.”
