Israeli media figures and commentators turned sharply against Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff this week, accusing two of US President Donald Trump’s closest Middle East envoys of helping push an Iran deal that many in Israel view as dangerous and incomplete.
The criticism came amid mounting Israeli concern over the emerging US-Iran memorandum of understanding, which critics say prioritizes regional calm and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz while leaving Iran’s nuclear program, missile program, and support for regional proxies for later negotiations.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel would continue to act to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, regardless of the agreement. Israeli officials also told Ynet that Netanyahu had made clear to Trump that Israel did not view itself as bound by the Lebanon clause in the agreement and would keep operating against Hezbollah threats.
But while Netanyahu avoided a direct public attack on Trump’s envoys, some Israeli commentators did not.
Channel 14, a right-wing Israeli television channel often described as Israel’s answer to Newsmax because of its strongly conservative, pro-Netanyahu editorial line and influence among right-wing viewers, carried some of the sharpest criticism.
Channel 14 anchor Tal Meir used her Monday morning program to criticize Kushner and Witkoff, accusing them of turning their backs on Israel “at the moment of truth.”
“They got a little confused in this event,” Meir said, according to Channel 14. “You are part of these people.”
Meir argued that Israel was defending the Jewish people as a whole, including Jews living outside the country.
“We are here, among other things, to defend you too,” she said. “In the end, this is your real home, and we are guarding it for you and for your future generations. And you turn your backs on us like this? Simply losers.”
Kushner and Witkoff painted as sell-outs
The comments reflected a broader emotional tone in parts of the Israeli right, where Kushner and Witkoff are being judged as American negotiators and as Jewish figures with a perceived obligation toward Israel.
Channel 14 also reported that Yinon Magal, host of The Patriots, attacked Kushner and Witkoff on X, writing that Trump had come out of the agreement looking like a “loser.” According to the report, Magal accused the two envoys of acting under Qatari pressure and “selling their brothers in Israel.”
The anger toward Kushner and Witkoff has intensified because the two men had previously been praised in Israel for their role in hostage negotiations and Trump’s broader Middle East policy. Their current role in the Iran track has now made them targets for Israeli frustration over what many see as a rushed diplomatic process that does not meet Jerusalem’s security demands.
Ynet reported that the memorandum appears to fall short of four demands Netanyahu had set out only days earlier: removing Iran’s enriched uranium, dismantling enrichment infrastructure, limiting missile production, and ending support for terrorist proxies. According to the report, those goals are currently “not on the horizon.”
The media believes the US-Iran agreement falls short
The Israeli backlash is also linked to the structure of the agreement itself. Critics argue that the deal addresses the immediate crisis around Hormuz while pushing the hardest questions about Iran’s nuclear and regional military capabilities into a later stage
Channel 14 cited Israeli security officials warning that the agreement was based on a fragile structure, signed in American haste, and left the core of the nuclear threat without a real answer.
For now, the strongest public criticism of Kushner and Witkoff is coming from Israeli right-wing media rather than from official Israeli government statements. But the tone marks a significant shift from the praise the two envoys received in Israel only months ago.
Kushner and Witkoff, once viewed by many Israelis as trusted channels into Trump’s inner circle, are now becoming symbols of what critics describe as Washington’s willingness to prioritize a regional diplomatic win over Israel’s strategic concerns.
Source:
www.jpost.com
