The morning after Donald Trump announced his "deal of the century," Orit Artsiely is standing on the muddy, black banks of the Jordan River, contemplating what the deal would mean for her. It had rained throughout the night and into the morning and the sky is just beginning to clear up. The air is warm and humid and flies have already discovered the box of dates Artsiely put out for her guests.
Artsiely is the secretary of finance of the Jordan Valley Regional Council (JVRC), an umbrella organization for Jewish settlers here. She had spoken the night before to her boss, who was on a trip to Washington with an Israeli delegation. His name is David Elhayani, but most people here refer to him as the Mayor of the Jordan Valley. He recently stood in a room with Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The American president talked a lot, but the mayor had difficult time getting a grasp of what it all might mean for the Jordan Valley.
"He told me: We need details," Artsiely says.
When asked whether Elhayani clapped along with the others present for Trump's speech, she just shrugs.
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