Tel Aviv Might Be Getting a Trump Tower

A luxury hotel under construction in Tel Aviv will be the tallest hotel in the city—and it could have the Trump name on it. Eric Trump, who runs the Trump Organization, spoke to the owners of the hotel in the trendy Sarona district this spring about a partnership, the New York Times reports. "Israel has always been a market we would love to explore," the president's son tells the Times, though he says no deal has been made and "any discussions have been strictly preliminary." The talks with the owners of what's currently called the Sarona Hotel took place before missiles hit the district during Iranian counterattacks.

Sources tell the Times, however, that Eric Trump told Israeli real-estate execs that the project "had the feel of a Trump property" and discussed adding extra floors to the plan for a 47-floor building. Since Donald Trump's 2024 election win, the Trump name has been licensed to buildings in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, the Times notes, and Israel could be next despite fears a Trump building there could become a target. The company retreated from a Jerusalem hotel project after the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks and gave up on an earlier Tel Aviv hotel plan after Trump's 2016 election win. "You can't build the tallest building in Tel Aviv and try to negotiate peace in the Middle East," Eric Trump said at the time.