Bill Clinton promised to move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He failed to do it. Then George W. Bush said he’d move it. But he didn’t. Then Barack Obama made the same commitment – with the same result – nothing happened.
Then along came Donald Trump. The guy whom every political pundit said would never become president, promised he’d move our embassy to Jerusalem, and he actually did it. This week.
So, good decision? Or bad? Only time will tell for sure. But I think Trump did the right thing. Why do I say that? A number of reasons.
First of all, as President Trump himself said recently, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is “recognizing a reality.” Israel has had physical possession of virtually all of Jerusalem since at least 1967, when it unified the city under Israeli control in the Six Day War. And in reality, Israel’s claim to the city goes back thousands of years.
Senator Chuck Schumer (a person I don’t often quote for support) said moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem is “a long overdue move.” He further stated that “every nation should have the right to choose its capital.” And he concluded by saying “I applaud President Trump for doing it.” (Now that’s something you don’t hear everyday from Chuck Schumer!)
Not surprisingly, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fully supports the move, saying “thank you America.” Netanyahu went on to say that “President Trump’s decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem affirms a great and simple truth: Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for the past 3,000 years. It’s been the capital of our state for the past 70 years. It will remain our capital for all time.”
Of course not everyone shares that sentiment. Most Arab countries in the Middle East, as well as our European allies, oppose the move. They believe it will lead to violence and instability in the region. And there has certainly been some of that. Since the official change several days ago, there have been over 50 protesters, mostly Palestinians, killed, and many more wounded. However, most of these casualties were a result of Hamas-inspired protesters trying to break through the border fence between Gaza and Israel.
And something else I think is important. The world is learning an important lesson about this president. When he says something, he means it. If he says he’s going to take a certain action, the odds are he will.
We’ve had previous presidents say “read my lips, no new taxes.” And then raise taxes. Or tell bad actors on the world scene that if they crossed this red line (use of chemical weapons against civilians for example) that there would be consequences. And there weren’t.
But this president is different. If he says he’s going to do something – he probably will. And I would argue, that’s a good thing.