Trump Says “Don’t”     

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For the Israeli political class, this year’s Pesach was marked by  a flood of leaks at home and abroad. The latest was laundered through the New York Times. The time-honored practice of leaking sensitive material to the foreign press is a way of bypassing the Israeli censor — once a story breaks abroad, the Israeli media is free to cover it, too.

This leak — a detailed exposé of Israel’s plans for an attack on Iranian nuclear sites, shining a spotlight on the disagreements between Washington and Jerusalem — didn’t trigger an instant investigation, despite it being perpetrated by an Israeli journalist, Ronen Bergman.

The leak shed light on the reasons for Trump’s White House invitation to Netanyahu the week before Pesach, a surprise visit in the middle of the prime minister’s trip to Hungary. In effect, Trump said “don’t,” imposing a veto on Bibi’s plan for a massive May attack on Iranian nuclear sites, which would have set Iran’s nuclear capabilities back by a year.

Netanyahu, who’s as deferential to Trump as a chassid toward his rebbe, reacted circumspectly, but didn’t deny the report.