President Trump's Speech, Recognition of Jerusalem as Capital of Israel

PRESIDENT TRUMP:

Thank you. When I came into office, I promised to look at the world’s challenges with open eyes and very fresh thinking.

We cannot solve our problems by making the same failed assumptions and repeating the same failed strategies of the past. All challenges demand new approaches.

My announcement today marks the beginning of a new approach to conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

In 1995, Congress adopted the Jerusalem Embassy Act urging the federal government to relocate the American Embassy to Jerusalem and to recognize that that city, and so importantly, is Israel’s capital. This act passed congress by an overwhelming bipartisan majority. And was reaffirmed by unanimous vote of the Senate only six months ago.

Yet, for over 20 years, every previous American president has exercised the law’s waiver, refusing to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem or to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city. Presidents issued these waivers under the belief that delaying the recognition of Jerusalem would advance the cause of peace. Some say they lacked courage but they made their best judgments based on facts as they understood them at the time. Nevertheless, the record is in.

After more than two decades of waivers, we are no closer to a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

It would be folly to assume that repeating the exact same formula would now produce a different or better result.

Therefore, I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver.

Today, I am delivering. I’ve judged this course of action to be in the best interests of the United States of America and the pursuit of peace between Israel and the Palestinians. This is a long overdue step to advance the peace process. And to work towards a lasting agreement.

Israel is a sovereign nation with the right, like every other sovereign nation, to determine its own capital. Acknowledging this is a fact is a necessary condition for achieving peace. It was 70 years ago that the United States under President Truman recognized the state of Israel.

Ever since then, Israel has made its capital in the city of Jerusalem, the capital the Jewish people established in ancient times.

Today, Jerusalem is the seat of the modern Israeli government. It is the home of the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, as well as the Israeli Supreme Court. It is the location of the official residence of the prime minister and the president. It is the headquarters of many government ministries.

For decades, visiting American presidents, secretaries of State and military leaders have met their Israeli counterparts in Jerusalem, as I did on my trip to Israel earlier this year.

Jerusalem is not just the heart of three great religions, but it is now also the heart of one of the most successful democracies in the world. Over the past seven decades, the Israeli people have by the a country where Jews, Muslims and Christians and people of all faiths are free to live and worship according to their conscience and according to their beliefs.

The Interpreter Newsletter

Understand the world with sharp insight and commentary on the major news stories of the week.

Sign Up

SEE SAMPLE PRIVACY POLICY OPT OUT OR CONTACT US ANYTIME

Jerusalem is today and must remain a place where Jews pray at the Western Wall, where Christians walk the stations of the cross, and where Muslims worship at Al Aqsa Mosque. However, through all of these years, presidents representing the United States have declined to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. In fact, we have declined to acknowledge any Israeli capital at all.

But today we finally acknowledge the obvious. That Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. This is nothing more or less than a recognition of reality. It is also the right thing to do. It’s something that has to be done.

That is why consistent with the Jerusalem embassy act, I am also directing the State Department to begin preparation to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This will immediately begin the process of hiring architects, engineers and planners so that a new embassy, when completed, will be a magnificent tribute to peace.

In making these announcements, I also want to make one point very clear. This decision is not intended in any way to reflect a departure from our strong commitment to facilitate a lasting peace agreement.

We want an agreement that is a great deal for the Israelis and a great deal for the Palestinians. We are not taking a position of any final status issues including the specific boundaries of the Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem or the resolution of contested borders. Those questions are up to the parties involved.

The United States remains deeply committed to helping facilitate a peace agreement that is acceptable to both sides. I intend to do everything in my power to help forge such an agreement.

Without question, Jerusalem is one of the most sensitive issues in those talks. The United States would support a two-state solution if agreed to by both sides. In the meantime, I call on all parties to maintain the status quo at Jerusalem’s holy sites including the Temple Mount, also known as Haram al-Sharif. Above all, our greatest hope is for peace. The universal yearning in every human soul.

With today’s action, I reaffirm my administration’s longstanding commitment to a future of peace and security for the region. There will, of course, be disagreement and dissent regarding this announcement. But we are confident that ultimately, as we work through these disagreements, we will arrive at a peace and a place far greater in understanding and cooperation. This sacred city should call forth the best in humanity.

Lifting our sights to what is possible, not pulling us back and down to the old fights that have become so totally predictable.

Peace is never beyond the grasp of those willing to reach it.

So today we call for calm, for moderation, and for the voices of tolerance to prevail over the purveyors of hate. Our children should inherit our love, not our conflicts. I repeat the message I delivered at the historic and extraordinary summit in Saudi Arabia earlier this year: The Middle East is a region rich with culture, spirit, and history. Its people are brilliant, proud and diverse. Vibrant and strong.

But the incredible future awaiting this region is held at bay by bloodshed, ignorance and terror.

Vice President Pence will travel to the region in the coming days to reaffirm our commitment to work with partners throughout the Middle East to defeat radicalism that threatens the hopes and dreams of future generations.

It is time for the many who desire peace to expel the extremists from their midsts. It is time for all civilized nations and people to respond to disagreement with reasoned debate, not violence. And it is time for young and moderate voices all across the Middle East to claim for themselves a bright and beautiful future.

So today, let us rededicate ourselves to a path of mutual understanding and respect. Let us rethink old assumptions and open our hearts and minds to possible and possibilities.

And finally, I ask the leaders of the region political and religious, Israeli and Palestinian, Jewish and Christian and Muslim to join us in the noble quest for lasting peace.

Thank you. God bless you. God bless Israel. God bless the Palestinians and God bless the United States.

Thank you very much. Thank you.

Jerusalem: Why Trump Succeeded Where Others Failed

After months of stalling and waiting, President Trump finally officially recognized Jerusalem as the Eternal Capital of Israel. He further directed his cabinet and the State Department to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

The transition will take time, but it's underway. Of course, the Palestinian terrorists and their liberal enablers are screaming and rioting in the streets over this move. But it's about time it happened. The United States' military victories in the Middle East against ISIS, plus the growing awareness of the violent nature of the Islamic political cult, have wakened the world to the high stakes in the region. For these reasons, I respect why President Trump issued the formal declaration now rather than in January or February.

We need to stand with Israel, and we need to ensure that the capital of the only stable liberal democracy in the Middle East is recognized as the mainstay of the Jewish State.

His critics in the press and among the Beltway intelligentsia blasted the move as short-sighted or political. Unbelievable. Even Democrats who wanted this move to happen are slamming the President for actually doing it.

To all the anti-Trump haters, this tweet says it all:

I fulfilled my campaign promise - others didn’t! pic.twitter.com/bYdaOHmPVJ

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 8, 2017

In 1995, Congress passed legislation, which President Bill Clinton signed, that would require the United States to move its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. One part of the law, however, permitted the President to issue a waiver in case of national security threats. Every president since has used that waiver to back away from their campaign promise. This time, however, President Trump allowed the waiver to lapse and he announced official recognition of Jerusalem as the official, eternal capital of the state of Israel.

Why didn't the other Presidents follow through on the promise? I can hazard a few guesses.

Bill Clinton was too busy trying to make history for himself by brokering the Oslo Accords. He wanted to be the peace-maker who achieved the lasting cessation of conflict in the Middle East and the final assurance of a two-state solution.

Didn't happen. In fact, in the year 2000, the Second Intifada erupted. Islamic extremists in the region had no interest in a two-state solution—and still don’t. The rogue, terrorist states within the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip do not want to live side-by-side with Jews, but would rather see them all pushed into the sea.

George W. Bush ended up as the NeoCon I had feared. I thought that he would have showed some muscle, some backbone. Then again, he was the same President who declared that he had to suspend the rules of the free market to save it—a brazen lie. He also danced around with globalist interests. Recognizing Jerusalem as the eternal capital of Israel would have jeopardized those global ambitions. The very existence of the Jewish State signals that there is a God, and that if there is to be a One World Government, it will rest on His shoulders, not on the shoulders of mortal men.

As for Barack Obama, he was hostile to Israel and did not want Jerusalem to be recognized as the eternal capital. From the outset of the Obama Administration, tensions rose considerably between Benjamin Netanyahu and Obama. Pictures of the two leaders showed them distant, refusing to look at each other. Reports indicated that Obama and his team had called Netanyahu a "chickensh--t".

During the 2012 Democratic National Convention, the delegates wanted to remove the plank from the national platform calling for recognition of Jerusalem as capital of Israel. The president officer, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, rejected the voice vote on the floor, most likely at the call of President Obama. He may have agreed with the progressive base on this issue, no doubt, but he couldn't afford the media fallout that would have boosted Romney’s election prospects.  

The final blow against Israel came when Obama used tax dollars to swing the 2015 Israeli elections toward Netanyahu's opponent. Obama's meddling didn't have the impact he wanted. Netanyahu cruised to victory with a stronger mandate. His leadership was crucial to guiding the Jewish State through two more years of Obama's anti-Israeli, pro-Iranian backstabbing.

Now we have Donald Trump, who won the 2016 election in a populist, nationalist, conservative upset as part of a rising wave of anti-globalist pushback. His support from Evangelical Christians was essential to victory, no doubt. Trump's strong relationship with Jewish communities in New York and throughout the world assured Zionists everywhere, and Judeo-Christian proponents in general, that Trump would follow through on the promise to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and move the US Embassy to the capital.

How else did Trump manage to avoid the US Embassy double-talk which had plagued his predecessors? President Trump is outside of the corrupted Establishment of both political parties. This is true leadership, which builds up the country and the party by paying attention to the needs and concerns of the voters, not the will and whim of K Street, the DC Potomac Two Step, and the corrupt, self-enriching swamp.

Trump had the backbone and the forethought to do what no other President had done. Yes, he makes deals, but any compromise which gets us closer to our goals and upends the interests of the opposition is a step worth taking. Jerusalem has served as the Capital of the Jewish State since 1967. There’s no reason for any country to stave off formally recognizing this historical and political fact today. And already, another country—the Czech Republic—has stepped up and issued a formal recognition, too. Now that’s what I call leadership!

ICYMI: Hell Freezes Over--Lindsey Graham Apologizes to Cruz, Co-Sponsors Pro-Israel Legislation

You know that Donald Trump is already making America Great Again when sworn enemies on the same side of the political aisle are shaking hands and agreeing on welcome policy reforms.

Check out the video below:

Lindsey Graham apologized to Ted Cruz for the nasty things that he had said about him during the Election 2016 general election.

Lindsey Graham gave two thumbs up and said "Make America Great Again."

Graham and Cruz talked about Rex Tillerson. The Senator from Texas introduced Tillerson to the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, too. That's interesting, indeed.

Cruz was not afraid to call Putin "a thug" for his aggressive, warlike behavior in Ukraine. Let's not forget what happened in Crimea!

Graham even suggested Cruz should be the next Secretary of State. Cruz would be great.

But they two of them were meeting together on Morning Joe to discuss bold legislation to defund the United Nations.

This is incredible. The Republicans should have don this decades ago. Now that we have all seen how the United Nations is a globalist, anti-Semitic cabal.

"Cut off their money, and that will get their attention."

He also appreciated Cruz' leadership on this matter to strengthen US-Israeli relations.

Two major foreign policy wins for our country and for conservatives:

1. Defund the UN
2. Move the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem

Brought to you by two erstwhile enemies in the United States.