Tel Avivians respond to Trump win with mix of emotions

As the dust began to settle from Donald Trump’s surprise win in the US presidential elections, Israelis and tourists in Tel Aviv were divided Wednesday afternoon on whether the results will be beneficial for the Jewish state and the Middle East.

“My mom really hates him, so she was sad,” said 21-year-old Nadav Boaz from Ness Ziona, a soldier who is being released from the army.

Though a US citizen, Boaz said he did not vote, though he was pleased with the results.

“I’m glad Trump won, because I don’t care what’s going to be there, I care about what’s going to be here,” Boaz said. “He’s very smart. Trump did what he did [during the election] to get free media coverage. No one liked him in the media, but everything was to get attention, and it worked.”

The mood couldn’t have been more different for Zehava, a 63-year-old who works at a women’s rights non-profit.

“We allowed ourselves to eat chocolate today at the office because we were in mourning,” she said. “I think it’s terrible, but maybe there will be surprises.”

She added that a friend sent her a picture on Facebook of an American flag where all the stars had fallen off, which summed up her feelings exactly.

Ram Berrebi, a 39-year-old hi-tech worker in Tel Aviv, said he made NIS 1,000 ($3,800) in bets predicting a Trump presidency.

“Trump’s win is good because Hillary Clinton is a crime syndicate,” he said. “Hillary Clinton invented the term corruption.”

“The elites in the US are so detached from the regular people, the people in the Rust Belt, the ones who suffer from globalization,” added Berrebi, who works in e-commerce.

On the Tel Aviv promenade along the beach, tourists soaking in the early November rays were shocked by the results. “We’re from Canada, and we have lots of room,” joked Julie, a tourist from Montreal who declined to give her last name. “I think that most Americans are disappointed. They thought it couldn’t happen. He’s such a great symbol of intolerance.”

Roberto Genero, a 35-year-old jewelry designer who sells beaded necklaces on the Tel Aviv promenade, said he thinks Trump will undoubtedly cause World War III.

“He doesn’t like anything, he doesn’t like Arabs, he doesn’t like Muslims, he doesn’t like blacks, he doesn’t like minorities,” said Genero. “I was so surprised. A bad man like that is going to be president? It can’t be.”