If you can, overlook, the impressive and paradoxical spectacle of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggesting Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize during a Monday night dinner.

This, by a leader wanted for alleged war crimes in Gaza, to an American president whose main peace efforts to date have done nothing but facilitate Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Iran’s bombing. In the courtyards of the powerful monarchs, the unstoppable flattery was always an exchangeable currency.

And yet, peace is his own responsibility. It has the power not only to stop the bloodshed in Gaza, but also to allow a broader agreement on Israel in the Middle East, which could secure a place in history for both men. All it takes is to give the command.

All Trump has to do is convince him. Netanyahu is in Washington this week to discuss yet another ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, under the auspices of the US. At the table is a 60 -day truce and the release of more hostages to create space for talks aimed at a more constant agreement, at a juncture where a wider regional agreement, which will limit the threat from Iran and smooth Israel’s position among the Arabs. This constant peace should be the real success test for the Israeli prime minister’s visit to Washington.

On Monday, I talked about this trip with the heads of two major organizations representing very different currents of American Jewish thought. Both say this could be a turning point for Israel. Morton Klein, president of the Zionist organization of America, is worried that Trump may be able to push Netanyahu to change course. Jeremy Ben-Mam, head of the most moderate J Street, is worried that he will not do so. Because if they agree on something, it is that the 47th US president is the only man on the planet who has the influence to succeed.

The challenge is the same as the one that has led to failure an almost identical effort to cease fire from the US earlier this year.

Netanyahu sees Hamas’ terrorist attack on October 7, 2023 as a unique life opportunity to eliminate any possibility of creating a Palestinian state in the territories that he himself, Klein and many others consider historically Jewish.

This belief has deep roots. Netanyahu has opposed the efforts to negotiate a two -state solution with the Palestinians throughout his political career. It was also the purpose of his father’s life, Bencion Netanyahu, an academic who had even opposed the division of 1947, which allowed the creation of the state of Israel a year later.

Entering the Palestinian issue through displacement, instead of negotiation, is also the obsession of the far -right partners of the government coalition in which Netanyahu is based on his political survival. And last week, 15 of the 32 members of his own party, Likund, signed an open letter asking him to annex the West Bank to Israel until July 27.

Klein is afraid that Trump can push Netanyahu to abandon this case by making peace in Gaza and accepting an agreement with Iran. According to Klein, these are Nazi regimes with which you cannot negotiate – only to destroy them. The same, he says, applies to the Palestinian Authority.

“They have lost the right to rule Gaza,” Klein told me, referring not to Hamas, but to the wider Palestinian population. “90% of Gaza’s Palestinians support Hamas, supported what Hamas did on October 7th. Like 85% to 90% of the Germans supported the Nazis. It’s the same problem. “

I find these views wrong, if not dangerous, as Ben-Ami. His fear is that Netanyahu will accept a ceasefire just because he intends to violate it as soon as it expires. He agrees that there is a huge opportunity for Israel’s longest -running prime minister if he decides to seize it. However, he is worried that the combination of Netanyahu’s beliefs and fear of collapse of the government will prevent him. Ben-Ami’s logic is equally based on concern about Israel’s long-term security, as well as Klein.

“Let’s put aside morality, let’s put aside Jewish values, this is not a successful strategy for the state of Israel over the long time,” he said, referring to any Gaza and West Bank policy that is ultimately based on the Palestinian displacement. “The possibility for regional smoothing and integration will be out of debate, the Jewish scatter will be frustrated and distant from the Jewish state.”

Israel will end up isolated, vulnerable and permanently insecure.

It is always easy to present hopes for a solution as a sample of weakness or naivety. But the situation is not as desperate as Klein presents it, and as many Israeli Jews believe, even after as many failed attempts for decades. Gaza polls show that support for Hamas and the support of the October 7 attack is no longer overwhelming. About half of the respondents also said they support the recent demonstrations they ask Hamas to leave the power in Gaza.

In the same way, Iran’s regime is hostile, but it is neither suicidal nor monolithic. Trump would really deserve the Nobel Peace Prize if he managed to persuade Netanyahu to accept a meaningful agreement on Gaza, which would end bloodshed, ensure the liberation of the rest of the hostages and lead to the Saidian and Syrians diplomacy. He should also first reverse the damage he has caused to the Peace case in Ukraine, using his influence to push his other controversial friend, Vladimir Putin, reach an agreement.

But these are Trump’s challenges. There are much better reasons for Netanyahu to make the triumphant round now and to pursue a constant peace, under which he will withdraw troops from Gaza, to allow others to manage the tragedy that has taken place. It may not survive politically as the next elections if it does, but it is likely to have a greater chance of re -election than any other time in the future. This can be a unique opportunity to save his hysteria, his country and his neighbors from a policy that only guarantees constant insecurity.