During the campaign, Donald Trump promised that if elected he would move the American embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem. He also promised to build a wall and have Mexico pay for it, put Hillary Clinton behind bars and temporarily ban muslims from entering the United States.
Fast forward to December 23rd and the billionaire investor is four weeks away from taking the oath of office and moving into the White House.
The President-elect has nominated pro-Israel proponent and Orthodox Jew David Friedman to serve as ambassador to the Jewish state, causing controversy among those who advocate for a two-state solution.
Friedman said he is looking forward to serving in Jerusalem.
Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s campaign director turned top aide, has indicated that they hope to move the embassy very early on in his rein.
Why is the new republican leadership so adamant about doing this?
According to Israel’s US ambassador Ron Dermer, this will be a “great step forward to peace”. Trump told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) that “We will move the American embassy to the eternal capital of the Jewish people, Jerusalem – and we will send a clear signal that there is no daylight between America and our most reliable ally, the state of Israel,”
They could be forgiven for thinking it’s a good idea, but clearly Palestinian leadership disagrees.
In an interview with The Guardian, top Palestinian official Saeb Erekat said this move would result in a “destruction of the peace process as a whole” and later added “If you were to take these steps, of moving the embassy, annexing settlements in the West Bank – you are sending this region down the path of something that I call chaos, lawlessness and extremism.”
He’s right.
The Palestinian’s living in the West Bank have been oppressed their whole lives, whether it was by their friends in the Arab League who misrepresented them or the British and American’s who have had the courage to vex the Arabs whenever they felt like it.
The result of this maltreatment? Yasir Arafat, FATAH, PLO, Black September, the Lebanese Civil War, The Munich Massacre, the Intifada, Hamas and countless acts of terror against innocent Jews and Arabs alike.
You get the picture.
This move may be nothing more than a symbolic gesture of solidarity between the new US administration and Israel, but it could have very real consequences for the people in the Levant.
Blaise Pascal famously crafted “The Wager” in which he hedged his bets in favor of believing in God, stating the worst case scenario (he’s wrong) is far less brutal than that of the worst possible scheme for the atheist (eternal hell). If he’s right he would live in eternal heaven whereas the atheist gains next to nothing.
There’s not much to gain by moving the embassy and everything to lose.
Following Blaise’s logic, if we keep the consulate in Tel-Aviv what's the worst that could happen as a direct result of that action? A few right-wing Israeli’s are upset with Trump and journalists label him as a liar (which they would’ve done regardless).
If we move it to Jerusalem the Arab-Israeli tensions could once again erupt into flames and thousands of innocent civilians, friends and neighbors among them, could be caught in the crossfires.
It could also enrage terrorist’s to assassinate U.S. and Israeli officials, blow up movie theaters and commit other heinous acts.
If we keep the office in Tel-Aviv we could avoid all of this and focus on more concrete actions such as the establishment of an autonomous and internationally recognized Palestinian state with it’s capital in East Jerusalem.
Moving the embassy to the Holy City only serves the Israeli’s interests and moves us further away from peace. Zionism has achieved it’s objective of forming a Jewish homeland in the Levant, now it’s the Palestinian’s turn.
In his famous 1974 address to the United Nations national assembly, Yasir Arafat remarked “Our resolve to build a new world is fortified-a world free of colonialism, imperialism, neo-colonialism and racism in each of its instances, including Zionism.”
Thanks to Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu it appears that new world won’t be recognized anytime soon.
When you put a lid on a boiling pot, the water get’s hot. Take off the lid, act like adults and avoid subtle yet provocative moves.
Yasir hoped “ to place the relations between nations on a basis of equality, peaceful coexistence, mutual respect for each other’s internal affairs, secure national sovereignty, independence and territorial unity on the basis of justice and mutual benefit.”
Let’s keep the embassy in Tel-Aviv, come together and work in solidarity against the real enemies: radical Jihadists and Iran.
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