内容摘要：That new Turkey-Saudi amiability was on display during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East earlier this month, when he held a surprise meeting with al-Sharaa in Riyadh. Saudi Crown Prince

That new Turkey-Saudi amiability was on display during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East earlier this month, when he held a surprise meeting with al-Sharaa in Riyadh. Saudi Crown Prince

Patrons eat lunch below a mural depicting polar bears and other wildlife, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, at the Seaport Hotel in Churchill, Manitoba. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)Patrons eat lunch below a mural depicting polar bears and other wildlife, Monday, Aug. 5, 2024, at the Seaport Hotel in Churchill, Manitoba. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

But the bears are not just for tourists: one residential apartment building features a giant mural of a polar bear standing on its hind legs, peering into the town. Another mural, this one on the side of a business, features alternating images of polar bears painted in bright colors and beluga whales swimming in pairs. And readers at the town’s public library share their space with a giant sculpture of a grinning bear, displayed prominently between the shelves.In the town’s grocery stores, too, shoppers can enjoy a “bluebeary” ale, with an illustration of a polar bear on the can., caused mostly by people burning coal, oil and gas, means that one day the local population of polar bears could almost disappear.

But as long as there are bears in Churchill, residents and tourists alike will continue to appreciate and memorialize them.A toy polar bear sits on the dashboard of a truck near an abandoned radar station, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Churchill, Manitoba. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

A toy polar bear sits on the dashboard of a truck near an abandoned radar station, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Churchill, Manitoba. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

A polar bear sculpture greets patrons, Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, at the Churchill Public Library in Churchill, Manitoba. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)Michael Oren, a historian and former Israeli ambassador to the U.S., said there is at least one precedent for Trump’s approach.

“It’s going to drive the people in Washington crazy, but it most closely resembles the Obama administration,” he said.On Barack Obama’s first visit as president to the Middle East, he too skipped Israel. Oren, a critic of that administration who was Israel’s envoy to the U.S. at the time, said Obama repeatedly violated an unspoken rule of U.S.-Israeli relations — that there be no surprises. That led to public spats with Netanyahu, especially around the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal.

Few expect a repeat under Trump — or that he will publicly press Israel to wind down the war in Gaza, despiteunleashed by its war and blockade.