Long Islanders react to Trump's pitch for Gaza with bemusement, concern

Long Islanders on Wednesday expressed astonishment and ridicule but also concern over President Donald Trump’s proposal to force all Palestinians to permanently evacuate Gaza so the United States can "take over."

Speaking Tuesday at the White House, where he was meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said the United States would "take over" Gaza and permanently relocate the 1.8 million Palestinians living there to other countries.

The president didn't rule out sending in troops as part of his plan to create a "Riviera of the Middle East" in Gaza, which he said now looks like a "demolition site" after prolonged bombings by Israel in retaliation for Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack.

Provocative's the point

Mohamed Sameen, president of the Mount Sinai Muslim Center, a mosque in Suffolk County, like several others interviewed by Newsday on Wednesday, could not suppress a laugh when asked about Trump’s proposal.

"It’s ridiculous and funny that he makes those statements," said Sameen, who is also president of the Muslim Council of Suffolk County, a coalition of 20 mosques. "It’s like asking him to leave his hotel because somebody else wants it."

On Wednesday, White House officials tried to walk back Trump’s comments, saying any relocation of Palestinians would only be temporary and he did not plan to send U.S. troops to Gaza.

Sameen said Trump should focus on finding peace in the region and bringing food and other supplies to Gaza’s devastated population "rather than creating more disruptions."

Harvey Finkelstein, president of the Dix Hills Jewish Center, said he believed Trump was not being serious and made the statements "to shake everybody up."

"I think he put a provocative statement out there to challenge all people to get to the table to try to find a real answer," Finkelstein said. "This was a ploy to get everybody to actually say, ‘Wake up. We have to find an answer.’ Because what you are doing now is going nowhere."

Suha Syed, a Muslim student at SUNY Old Westbury, said she found Trump’s comments offensive.

"I think there is very little empathy or consideration being made by these remarks from the president," Syed said. "It’s such a callous and carelessly cruel way of basically telling people to get out of their land."

She also found Trump's idea of a "Riviera of the Middle East" disrespectful.

"You cannot have a blessed land or a righteous land or a home over the corpses of children and rubble," she said.

'It's a fantasy'

Health officials in Gaza say Israel’s bombing has killed at least 46,000 people, including combatants. Hamas killed 1,200 people in its initial attack and took 250 people hostage.

Jack Lenson, a Jewish retired school principal who lives in Roslyn Heights, said Trump’s idea was a nonstarter.

"It will never happen. It’s a fantasy," Lenson said. "Those people aren’t leaving, and if he thinks it’s going to be an easy thing to accomplish, it’s not."

With his latest comments, the president may have been aiming to "let the Gazans know he is not messing around. I think he wants to let them know the United States is behind Israel and if Israel has to do even more damage he will support that," Lenson said.

Sanaa Nadim, the Muslim chaplain at Stony Brook University, said Trump’s proposal to clear Gaza is "not his call to make. It’s not for the United States to declare the expulsion of Palestinian people."

She added that such a move would be "a complete disregard for international law and the stability of a people whose entire lives have been ruined by this war."

Jim Rutenberg, a Jewish resident of Lawrence, said when he first heard of Trump’s comments, his initial reaction was, "Are you kidding?"

"I think he’s throwing up a trial balloon. He’s being audacious as he typically is," Rutenberg said. "I put it in the same category as throwing up the tariffs and getting people to the table," he said, referring to tariffs Trump sought to impose this week on Mexico, Canada and China. He ended up delaying for a month all the tariffs except a 10% one on Chinese products.