After a brutal primary season, the general election is infull swing in the United States. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, of course,emerged as their party’s nominees.  Duringthe nominating conventions in July, protesters of various stripes chanted “TheWorld Is Watching.” And it is! Here in Israel, developments in the US electioncampaign often lead the news. So what do Israelis have to say about it?
On this episode of the JPost Podcast, we bring you anotheredition of Taxicab Diplomacy, where we hear what local cab drivers think about politicalissues. On this episode: Donald Trump versus Hillary Clinton.
Israelis have always had their own perspective on USpolitics, and most of them filter their views through the lens of one question:what’s best for Israel? In recent years, there’s been a feeling in Israelicircles that Republican administrations are more friendly to Israeli interests.For example, former President George W. Bush, who was unpopular around much ofthe world by the end of his second term, still had many fans in Israel. PresidentBarack Obama, a Democrat who is largely popular around the world, has much lesssupport in Israel. According to a Pew survey in 2015, just 49% of Israelis hadconfidence in Obama, compared with a world average of 65%.
But this election year is no ordinary election year.Clinton, the first woman to lead a major US party, is a known quantity. She’s linkedboth to President Obama, for whom she worked as Secretary of State, and to herhusband, former President Bill Clinton, who was pretty well-liked in Israel.
Donald Trump, on the other hand, is a wild card. The factsthat his daughter Ivanka converted to Judaism and her husband Jared Kushner isseen as traditionally pro-Israel help his case. But he’s been criticized bypro-Israel advocates for saying he’d be neutral on the Israeli-Palestinianconflict.
So what sticks out to Israelis? Have a listen and find out!