If you ask Morton Klein, head of the Zionist Organization of America, US President Donald Trump’s plan to resettle two million residents of Gaza and redevelop the Strip for American interests is a “win-win for everyone.”
“Look, there’s not really much for Gazans to go back to,” said Klein, national president of the hawkish group since 1993. “About 70 percent of Gaza has been destroyed, and there are no facilities to live a normal life. It’s not the same as forcing people out of their homes. This is a solution that is better for Gazan Arabs and eliminates the threat of a Hamas-type group threatening Israel on the southern border. If you’re going to build them new homes, build them somewhere they can have a beautiful life.”
Klein, in Israel for a Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations gathering in Jerusalem, has long embraced his role as an iconoclast among American Jewish leaders.
“I’m the only one here who opposed Israel’s deal to release the hostages in exchange for terrorists, and I’m the only one here who is publicly opposed to a Palestinian state,” Klein said.
With Trump back in the Oval Office, the Philadelphia native is excited by the prospect of the administration pushing an agenda that dovetails with that of the ZOA.
“During his first term, Trump moved the embassy to Jerusalem, he recognized the Golan, and cut aid to the Palestinians,” noted Klein. “Now, he has established the most pro-Israel cabinet I’ve ever seen… That is extremely heartening and encouraging to me.”
US President Donald Trump (left) with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, in Washington, February 4, 2025. (Avi Ohayon/GPO)
However, he expressed concern that Trump’s plan for the US to take control of Gaza could end up with many Palestinians being able to return there.
“The next president might feel differently than Trump and want to invite a million Arabs to move there,” he said. “Israel has to retain control of the land, not the US.”
Founded nearly 130 years ago, the ZOA says it fights against antisemitism and works to support Israel in court and through political lobbying. The group also has programs on 70 American college campuses providing guidance and legal assistance to Jewish students experiencing antisemitism.
Klein rejected attempts to attach a right-wing label to his views, many of which remain on the fringes of public discourse, instead placing the ZOA in the “rationalist center.”
“We have been correct about everything,” Klein said. “Most of Israel now opposes a Palestinian state, so is that still right-wing? We might support a Palestinian state if that would bring peace, but there is no reason to think it will. Truth is not a political position.”
Klein believes more American Jews would agree with his views if he could reach them.
“I speak a lot at Reform and Conservative synagogues, and I get a standing ovation after almost every talk I give,” he said. “I’m laying out the truth, and many have never been exposed to it before.”
“People don’t know that the Hamas charter calls for the destruction of Israel,” he said. “They don’t know that the Palestinian Authority pays Arab terrorists pensions to murder Jews. They don’t know about the hatred and violence promoted in textbooks, because it’s never really talked about in the news. People are normal and rational when they learn the facts.”
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