Donald Trump has wasted no time in his first days as president of the United States in signing executive orders to enforce mass deportations, gender laws and American expansionism. And within this new Republican omnicause, support for Israel has become a mainstay.

In the inauguration, Rabbi Ari Berman delivered a presidential blessing that took a swipe at college campuses and advocated for releasing the remaining Israeli hostages. In Trump's first week, he reversed sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank and is getting credit for the ceasefire deal that was struck before he took office.

But then he also pardoned the Jan. 6 rioters—including blatant antisemites—and there's the whole Elon Musk maybe-Nazi-salute thing. To break down the first week of Trump's second presidency, we're joined by Gil Troy, an American presidential historian, former CJN columnist and author of the new book, To Resist the Academic Intifada: Letters to My Students on Defending the Zionist Dream. After Trump talk, they turn to the future of political movements in Israel and the shifting identity of the left in a post-ceasefire world.

Credits

• Hosts: Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy (@BovyMaltz)
• Production team: Michael Fraiman (producer), Zachary Kauffman (editor)
• Music: Socalled

Support The CJN

• Subscribe to the Bonjour Chai Substack
• Subscribe to The CJN newsletter
• Donate to The CJN (+ get a charitable tax receipt)
• Subscribe to Bonjour Chai (Not sure how? Click here)