A large billboard along a major road in Jerusalem, which once praised President Joe Biden, now celebrates the victory of President-elect Donald Trump: “Welcome back Dear friend!” it reads, above a smiling photograph of Trump.
In October 2023, the same billboard featured Biden with an American flag and an Israeli flag, with the simple word “Thanks!” Israelis were grateful for Biden’s visit and weapons supplies in the aftermath of the October 7 terror attack.
But as Biden began more critical of Israel, and tried to restrain its war effort, the image was taken down from the billboard, which is along Emek Refaim Street, a heavily American area of Jerusalem known as the German Colony.
The Trump billboard recalls some of the laudatory street decorations at the time of the opening of the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem in 2018, when locals were effusive in their praise of the 45th president for fulfilling a bipartisan promise.
As Breitbart News noted in October, polls of Israelis showed overwhelming support for Trump in the U.S. presidential election, and very little support for Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee. One poll had Trump at 66% among Israelis, and Harris at only 17%.
Israelis hope Trump will let them defeat their enemies, and reach peace deals with Arab states that want to move on beyond the conflicts of the past century.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days, available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.