Thomas Friedman’s message to President Trump, published in The New York Times, cuts sharper than most of the foggy, ideologically neutered op-eds that clutter that paper. It is, quite simply, one of the most brutally honest assessments of America’s relationship with Israel in years – from Thomas Friedman, of all people: an institutionalist and a stalwart of all things Zionist. What makes his message so urgent is not just what he says, but who he says it to, and why it matters now.
Let’s start with the heart of it: “This Israeli government is not our ally.” That line, once unspeakable in polite Washington company, is now printed in black and white on the pages of the Times. And Friedman is right to say it. Because an ally doesn’t bleed your treasury for decades while actively undermining your regional standing. An ally doesn’t gorge on billions in annual U.S. aid while openly defying your wishes and demands. An ally doesn’t hijack your foreign policy just to keep a prime minister out of prison.
In this ridiculous climate, where the term “antisemitism” is used to silence justified dissent, I feel compelled to say the obvious: this isn’t about the Israeli people necessarily; it’s about Benjamin Netanyahu and the ultranationalist, theocratic coalition he’s assembled. Friedman’s central thesis is strategic, not sentimental: Netanyahu’s government is dismantling what little remains of America’s regional influence. It is making the U.S. look weak, directionless, and captive to a foreign leader who will happily torch long-term stability for short-term political survival.
Friedman’s message is directed at Trump for a reason. Not because Trump is a model of consistency or moral clarity – he’s not – but because Trump, at times, has shown a transactional clarity that Washington’s foreign policy elite lacks. He doesn’t care for liberal bromides about “shared values.” He likes leverage. He likes optics. He likes getting something for something. And perhaps, at least in this brief moment, he sees what Netanyahu is offering him: nothing but headaches, blame, and a black hole of political fallout.
Of course, we should not romanticize Trump’s motives. He may not be breaking with Netanyahu out of principle, but out of calculation. He has significant business interests in the Gulf; distancing himself from Bibi could open doors for him personally in the Middle East’s growing financial scene. Trump’s recent decision to refer to the Persian Gulf as the Arabian Gulf, a term favored by Gulf monarchies and loathed in Tehran, signals where his priorities lie. If cozying up to Saudi or Emirati leadership means sidelining Bibi, so be it – Realpolitik with dollar signs. In other words, even with all the baggage, it might be the best of a bad set of options.
After all, we are talking about a man who would do anything, including the perpetual bombing of women and children, just to avoid well-deserved prison time. Netanyahu isn’t just gambling with Israel’s future. He’s gambling with America’s. Every step toward annexation, every civilian death in Gaza, every diplomatic snub to Riyadh or Amman, pushes the region closer to collapse, and drags the U.S. into another quagmire. Netanyahu is not interested in peace, stability, or even detente. He’s interested in buying time: for himself, for his base, and for the trial he’s desperate to avoid. Netanyahu’s political survival depends on extremists who see compromise as betrayal. For all his flaws, Trump knows one thing: being someone else’s pawn doesn’t project strength. It makes him look weak – a prop, not a powerbroker. Israel is a client state, yet it treats the U.S. like a subordinate. It demands blind loyalty, dictates red lines, and ignores major diplomatic openings without consequence.
Friedman also dismantles the delusion that the Gaza war is about replacing Hamas with moderate Palestinian governance. He emphasizes that Netanyahu’s endgame isn’t rehabilitation – it’s removal. The plan, whether spoken or not, is displacement. Shrink Gaza. Box its civilians into humanitarian death traps. Hope enough of them flee to Egypt. Annex what remains. And dare the world to stop him. That’s not a counter-terror operation. That’s demographic engineering under military occupation.
And it will backfire – on Israel, yes. But also on the U.S., unless it finally makes clear to the Israeli government and its lobbyists that America calls the shots, not the other way around. Because every time a U.S.-backed bomb kills a child, America loses another sliver of legitimacy. Jordan’s monarchy trembles. Egypt’s fragile stability fractures. Iran and China grin.
Which brings us to the real reason this message matters: Friedman is issuing a permission slip for the American establishment to say what they’ve long whispered privately – that loyalty to Israel does not mean loyalty to this Israeli government. And he’s signaling to Trump, in language he understands, that walking away from Netanyahu is not betrayal. It’s strong and sane leadership.
This op-ed is important not just because it’s right, but because it breaks the fever. It refuses to let “support for Israel” be a blank check for extremism. It refuses to pretend that the Gaza catastrophe is just the fault of Hamas. And it refuses to let Netanyahu wrap himself in the flag of Jewish survival while leading his nation toward strategic suicide.
Of course, none of this absolves Friedman for his long history of championing disastrous wars – from cheerleading the invasion of Iraq to parroting neoliberal fantasies about globalization that gutted American manufacturing. Nor does it excuse his often shallow, techno-utopian reporting. But credit where it’s due – this piece is at least something. It says the quiet part out loud. And it matters.
John Mac Ghlionn is a contributing writer for The Hill, The Spectator, and US News & World Report. His work focuses on politics, media, and cultural psychology, and has been featured in a range of international outlets.
