Speaking with The Jerusalem Post in advance of his trip to Washington to attend the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on Monday, Sylvan Adams, the Canadian-Israeli philanthropist who made aliyah in 2015, said Trump’s election was extremely beneficial for Israel.
“It was a blessing for us that Donald Trump was elected. This will be the most Israel-friendly cabinet in history,” he said, referring to cabinet members such as Marco Rubio, the incoming secretary of state, Pete Hegseth, incoming secretary of defense, and Mike Waltz, incoming national security advisor. He also praised incoming US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee as a strong supporter of Israel.
Adams said Trump is far more focused and prepared than he was at the beginning of his first administration and expects that he will hit the ground running, particularly in the Middle East.
“I think we will potentially see major transformations in the Middle East because of his experience and because of the success of their diplomacy in the first term. I think we’re poised to see a very early deal with the Saudis and then momentum moving forward.”
In his view, Iran still presents a significant threat to Israel. Referring to Israel’s successful attack on Iranian missile defense systems, Adams said, “We’ve never had a better strategic situation vs Iran, and we will have to see what position the incoming Trump administration takes vis-à-vis Iran.”
Creating diplomatic ties
One of the few Israelis invited to the signing of the Abraham Accords in September 2020, Adams views his invitation to Trump’s inauguration as a further endorsement of his people-to-people approach to creating diplomatic ties between nations.
“It’s a tremendous honor and validation that I am helping to create conditions, particularly in the Middle East, that could lead to substantial change.”
Adams, who is not a US citizen, says few foreigners receive invitations to presidential inaugurations, and he is honored to be among the 1,400 people who will be present on the platform during the ceremony. These guests include the 535 members of the US Congress, the nine Supreme Court justices, and the families of the incoming president and vice president.
In February 2020, six months before the signing of the accords, Adams brought his Israel-Premier Tech team to the United Arab Emirates to ride in the Tour of the Emirates.
“I think our participation in the tour of the UAE in that bicycle race was very helpful in creating the conditions that led to the Abraham Accords. We did not encounter any hostility from the population. Fans were standing in line to get autographs from our riders and receive souvenir bottles with the word ‘Israel’ printed on them.”
Adams says he would be open to further expanding his cycling activities to promote peace if Trump expands the Abraham Accords to other countries, such as Saudi Arabia.
“We would love to receive an invitation to participate in the AlUla Tour, the annual professional bicycle competition in Saudi Arabia, and bring our riders,” said Adams, who added that the Israel-Premier Tech team will again be participating in the Tour of the Emirates in February.
Adams, who bills himself as Israel’s “self-appointed ambassador-at-large,” said cycling is one of the world’s most popular sports and noted that the participation of the Israel-Premier Tech team in the Tour de France, the world’s most popular race, with a television audience of two billion people, showcases Israel to the world.
“Bringing the good name of Israel to sports fans helps with the problem of antisemitism that we face. It exposes the fact that the antisemites are very vocal, but in the end, they represent a small minority of people,” said Adams.
He added that during the Tour de France, the Israeli cycling team was the second-most followed cycling team on cycling social media.