The special envoy is failing in his efforts at shuttle diplomacy to broker peace between Israel and Hamas…
That apparently didn’t matter to Kushner. Trump’s son-in-law appears to see himself as the Kissinger of this era, consciously modeling himself on the notorious diplomat, perhaps not realizing that the secretary’s foreign policy achievements were tempered by his reputation as a ruthless, immoral purveyor of realpolitik who left millions of dead bodies in his wake. Then again, it’s also possible Kushner knows that very well and is fine with the comparison.
When TIME Magazine announced its 2017 “100 Most Influential People” list, Jared Kushner was expected. After all, Donald Trump had appointed his son-in-law to the White House and given him a vast portfolio as the spouse of his favorite daughter, making him powerful. Nobody could fire Kushner. TIME’s encomium writer, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, answered the question of whether he was qualified. The late secretary’s statements seem incriminating.
Kissinger began his brief two-paragraph homage by stressing that the presidential transition is tough and that a president who knows nothing must rely on his counsel. So he wrote:
Since introducing himself after my foreign policy talk 18 months ago, Jared Kushner has traveled this space for roughly four months. We occasionally discuss since. As member of the Trump family, Jared knows the President’s intangibles. He has a broad education from Harvard and NYU and business administration knowledge. All this should help him succeed in his dangerous job flying near the sun.
Although Kissinger’s worldview was formed by his ideology and academic understanding of world power dynamics, Kushner’s is very similar. Kushner, like his father-in-law, views everything as a win-win real estate deal, inspired by his supposed economic expertise.
Kushner had a broad portfolio during Trump’s first term. International issues, especially the Middle East, were his passion, and he wanted to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. He eventually negotiated the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Israel. The accords were viewed as a first step by some and a sop to commercial interests that neglected the Palestinians by others.
Kushner and Trump’s real estate friend Steve Witkoff are functioning as the second administration’s special diplomatic envoys, despite not rejoining. The deceitful duo has failed to end the Iran conflict and establish a truce in Ukraine. A few months ago, everyone was celebrating the Gaza Peace Plan, but it’s stuck.
The agreement-mandated prisoner swap has taken place, and help has begun to trickle in, but the fighting has persisted. Since neither party is willing to take the initiative, the present standoff is dependent on Hamas disarming and Israel pulling out. A few weeks ago, Trump claimed that his so-called Board of Peace had succeeded in getting Hamas to disarm and Israel to halt all military attacks, so there seemed to be progress. Kushner was brought back into the picture to try to revive some of that old Kissinger Demonic magic after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s quick rejection of the notion.
Kushner and fellow board member and former UK prime minister Tony Blair have been meeting with Hamas leaders in Egypt over the past few days in an apparent effort to rescue the Board of Peace deal. Former U.S. ambassador Eliot Abrams was among many who voiced their disapproval of Kushner’s trip, accusing him of giving legitimacy to a terrorist group. Kushner traveled to Jerusalem to speak with Netanyahu, who essentially instructed him to pound sand; Israel would not withdraw from Gaza until Hamas disarms, according to the leader of Hamas. After agreeing to form working groups to continue their discussions, Israel attacked a cafe in Gaza City that overlooked the sea, killing seven people.
It is now entirely up to Hamas to break the deadlock, as Kushner said in an interview with Fox News. “Everyone will see that they’re not genuine about peace, and then Israel will have a lot more support from the U.S. and others to go and finish the job,” he stated, speaking about the current administration’s failure to fulfill their commitment.
The meaning of “finish the job” was not clarified by Trump’s special envoy for peace, but given Israel’s past actions, it is evident that this poses a terrible danger. That was too over the top, even for Henry Kissinger.
