Jerusalem: A Visit In Symbols For Donald Trump

Donald Trump in front of the Wailing Wall in East Jerusalem on 22 May

Donald Trump, accompanied by his wife, was first greeted by the Israeli Prime Minister on Monday, May 22, in Tel Aviv. He then became the first American president in office to go to the Wailing Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. If the friendship between the two countries has been celebrated, divergences still remain.

Benyamin Netanyahu wants to see in this visit evidence of the ties that bind the two countries, but also the special affection of Donald Trump for Israel. "  This visit is a double first," he says. This is the first time that an American president has come to the region during his first official visit. " It is also the first time that an American president in the office goes to the Wall of Lamentations, the holy place of Judaism. "  The Israeli people are applauding you," Benjamin Netanyahu told Donald Trump.

Officially, relations between the two countries and between the two leaders are excellent, reports our correspondent in Jerusalem, Guilhem Delteil. Even the possibility that Donald Trump has recently delivered to Russia the confidential information that Israel has obtained does not sully that friendship.

But the discourse reveals all the same fundamental differences. When Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed him to Jerusalem, "the  eternal capital of Israel, " Donald Trump said he was delighted to be on a "  beautiful  land filled with the spirit of God  ." The White House had also refused to allow Benjamin Netanyahu to accompany the American president to the Wall of Lamentations, located in the eastern part of the city. Indeed, like the rest of the international community, the United States does not recognize the annexation of East Jerusalem by Israel.

Two symbolic visits

Donald Trump was not accompanied by any Israeli leader during his visit to the Old City of Jerusalem earlier in the day. He first visited the Holy Sepulcher, a building erected where Christian tradition places the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Before entering it, the American president was welcomed at the entrance by the representatives of the different churches that share the management of the holy place.

The American president then went to the Wailing Wall, the only vestige of the Jewish temple destroyed by the Romans in the year 70, making it the main holy place of Judaism. Donald Trump, wearing a black kippah, gathered there before inserting a sheet of folded paper between the stones, as tradition demands.

On Tuesday, the US president will be in Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, where he has an appointment with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

I thank Prime Minister [Netanyahu] for his determination to continue the peace process. He works very hard, it's not easy. I have heard that this is one of the most difficult agreements of all. But I have the feeling that in the end, we will get there. I hope.