Days away from President-elect Trump’s inauguration, it appears that Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu may set the catastrophic precedent of succumbing
to pressure to accept an unacceptable “deal” with Hamas.

If you only care about the next five minutes – or even seven days – then
being spineless today to please Mr. Trump makes sense.

But for someone concerned about Israel’s future over the next four years and
beyond, being spineless today is not an option.

Because if Mr. Trump and his team see that Binyamin Netanyahu is spineless
today, this “doormat” status will stain the relationship throughout the
entire Trump administration and beyond.

Don’t get me wrong: it’s not that Donald Trump doesn’t like the Jewish
State. It’s just the practical matter that if Israel is willing to be a
“doormat,” then in the worldwide balancing act that a president must
perform, the needs and concerns of “doormats” become less important than
those of others.

And a technical historical note: if Mr. Netanyahu allows us to be doormats,
our American friends and supporters associated with Mr. Trump face a
tremendous dilemma when it comes to pushing Trump for Israel:

#1 They don’t want to find themselves pushing for something that the Prime
Minister of Israel is willing to ultimately concede.

#2 There is nothing more embarrassing for someone whose reputation is based
on their ability to influence others than to put that ability to the test
and fail.

So if Mr. Netanyahu thinks that somehow we will be rewarded later for being
a doormat today, I fear that he is engaging in the most dangerous,
self-serving kind of wishful thinking.

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