Donald Trump sent Steve Witkoff to give a speech in Tel Aviv on Saturday night, but it could be the first item on the blooper reel of international relations. The long-awaited ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the release of hostages became a master class in tricky crowd management.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner joined Witkoff, Donald Trump’s hand-picked Special Envoy to the Middle East and close real estate friend, as he took the stage in Hostage Square. There were about 400,000 people in the square, many holding posters of loved ones missing since the October 2023 attacks.
It was an emotional, hopeful, and charged atmosphere. Until it wasn’t, of course. The mood shifted abruptly when Witkoff mentioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s name or tries to. He stumbled over Netanyahu’s name, starting to say “To Prime Minister Benjin Nahu…” before the crowd let out loud, long jeers. He begged, “Let me just finish my thought… guys, let me just finish my thought,” but the yelling drowned him out for well over a minute.
Netanyahu’s poor approval ratings and the fact that many Israelis blame him for dragging out the war at the expense of the hostages’ lives did not help. Parts of the same rally were described by Sky News as very emotional, with Witkoff telling the remaining hostages (20 are thought to be alive) that “you are coming home.” There were gasps and cheers at least for that line. He kept on, his voice shaking as he spoke directly to the audience, “Miracles can happen.” Ever the messenger, Ivanka spoke for her father, Donald Trump.
With her words framed like a campaign pitch, she said,
“The president wanted me to share (…) that he sees you, he hears you, he stands with you always.”
Witkoff tries to praise Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, but has a hard time finishing his thought because of booing pic.twitter.com/lRZJu69fp1
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 11, 2025
Through all of this, Kushner smiled and praised the Israelis for having chosen “exceptionalism” over “barbarism.” Even their speeches, however, were failing to mask the political dissonance that filled the event. In one sentence, Witkoff was being booed, and in the next, there were loud shouts of “Thank you, Donald Trump!” It was a strange concoction of thankfulness, sorrow, and annoyance, the kind of atmosphere that was possible only by two years of constant warfare.
Even so, it was a tentative breakthrough. After two years of violent conflicts, the ceasefire, which Donald Trump mainly brokered, finally allowed humanitarian aid to make its way to Gaza. The agreement says Israel will exchange the hostages for the release of 1,700 Gazans and 250 Palestinian prisoners held since the October 7, 2023, attacks. The power dynamics were evident in the soundbites and smiles behind the stage. Kushner and Ivanka served as informal advisers to Witkoff, a hotel developer who became a diplomat with no background in foreign policy, as he was flung into one of the most dangerous places on earth. Their visit to Tel Aviv served as a signal to many Israelis that Donald Trump’s inner circle has made a comeback to the international scene, which no one could have predicted.
Globally, the ceasefire has been slowly accepted. However, the inclusion of those such as former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in the proposed Gaza transition council has been seen as tone deaf by Palestinian officials. There is also doubt about how long this “miracle” truce will last, even though Donald Trump plans on going to Israel before holding a summit on peace in Egypt. Witkoff’s debut in Tel Aviv will probably be remembered more for that regrettable “Benjin Nahu” slip than for his politics.
Even ceasefires now risk becoming meme material in the age of viral clips.
