JERUSALEM—Donald Trump named more than half a dozen pro-Israel hawks to key foreign policy roles this week, reassuring Israelis that the president-elect’s incoming administration will be as supportive as his first.
Trump’s picks largely ended talk in Israel that MAGA isolationism could weaken U.S. backing of the Jewish state. Israeli commentators hailed the roster—led by Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) for secretary of state and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense—as a "dream team."
"This is a great reassurance from Israel’s perspective. The new appointments point to a hawkish administration that will not be afraid to confront the Iranians and radical Islam, and even to present a credible military option against them and create a new reality in the Middle East," former Israeli diplomat Jacob Dayan wrote for Israel’s Channel 12 news. "This is undoubtedly the U.S. ‘dream team’ for Israel."
Trump takes office at a pivotal moment for Israel. Over more than 13 months of fighting, the Israeli military has dealt major blows to Iran’s military and most important terrorist affiliates, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza. Now, Israeli leaders hope to win U.S. backing for a new regional order in which the threat from Iran is better contained—if not eliminated.
According to polling, Israelis overwhelmingly wanted Trump to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris in last week’s presidential election. But in the days after Trump won, Hebrew media played up the influence of isolationists in his inner circle, including son Donald Trump Jr., Vice President-elect J.D. Vance, and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. Much was also made of the absence of pro-Israel favorites from Trump’s first term. Son-in-law Jared Kushner reportedly opted out of a White House return, and Trump publicly rejected former secretary of state Mike Pompeo and former ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.
"In Israel, Fears of the Threat of Trump’s Chaos," Israeli tabloid Maariv blared over the weekend. "Israel’s closest friends remain on the sidelines, and those close to Trump show no willingness to express clear support."
Then, Trump started rolling out his would-be foreign policy principals, most of whom will need to be confirmed by the GOP-controlled Senate. In addition to Hegseth and Rubio, Trump’s picks included South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R.) for secretary of homeland security, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R., N.Y.) for U.N. ambassador, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R.) for ambassador to Israel, former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe for CIA director, real estate investor Steve Witkoff for Middle East envoy, and Rep. Mike Waltz (R., Fla.) for national security adviser.
Video clips of the Americans expressing strong support for Israel’s war with the Iranian axis circulated widely in Israeli media.
- Asked by a pro-Palestinian activist to support a ceasefire in Gaza weeks after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in southern Israel, Rubio replied: "On the contrary … I want [the Israelis] to destroy every element of Hamas they can get their hands on. These people are vicious animals who did horrifying crimes."
- Hegseth, speaking on Fox News following a 2020 Iranian attack on U.S. troops in Iraq, called the Islamic Republic an "evil regime," "like if ISIS controlled a state, just [a] Shia version." He advised then-President Donald Trump to bomb infrastructure in Iran, including energy and nuclear sites, saying, "I don’t want to hit cultural sites on purpose, but if you’re using one to harbor your most dangerous weapons, then that should be on the target list, too."
- Ratcliffe praised Israel on Fox News in September for, like Trump, "understanding the only way to deter terrorists like Iran and their proxies is to put your foot on their throat." "Israel has done that," Ratcliffe added. "We should be assisting Israel in doing so."
- Stefanik vowed in a May address to Israel’s parliament: "As long as I serve the American people, I will defend George Washington’s vision of religious pluralism and freedom," she vowed. "Today, this means crushing anti-Semitism at home and supplying the State of Israel with what it needs, when it needs it, without conditions, to achieve total victory in the face of evil."
Israeli journalists who had predicted a reprise of Trump’s first term—during which he moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, recognized Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, intensified sanctions on Iran, and ordered the assassination of Iranian terror chief Qassem Soleimani—took a victory lap on X.
"Just a week or two ago, they explained to us here in the news how much you can't trust Trump and that he will sell out Israel at the first opportunity," said Avishai Grinzaig, a reporter at Israel’s i24 news.
"A few more Trump appointments and Iran will ask Israel to calm America down," joked Ariel Schnabel, a staff writer at Israel’s Makor Rishon magazine. "And seriously—excellent appointments one by one of the true lovers of Israel in everything related to foreign policy. A dream and an opportunity that must not be missed."
Pro-Israel stalwarts will also play leading roles in staffing the rest of Trump’s second administration. Billionaire financier Howard Lutnick, a major donor to Zionist causes who has said he joined Trump’s campaign in large part to support Israel, is the co-chair of the transition. Brian Hook, a special envoy for Iran during Trump’s first term who helped oversee the "maximum pressure campaign," will reportedly lead the transition at the State Department.