Recognizing Jerusalem- a Capital Idea

Recognizing Jerusalem- A Capital Idea

It should be as obvious as the nose on one’s face- Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.

On Wednesday, December 6th, President Donald J. Trump formally declared the obvious, that Jerusalem is indeed the capital of Israel. He further put into motion the eventual relocation of the United States Embassy from its current location in Tel Aviv, to its more proper setting in the capital of Israel, Jerusalem. To deny that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel is no different than denying that London is the capital of the United Kingdom, that Paris is the capital of France, and that, well, Washington, D.C. is the capital of the United States.

One would never know it, though, given all of the outrage amongst the international community, as well as our own State Department apparatchiks and other politicos who swoon at the thought of this declaration. Never mind the fact that the last three U.S. presidents, Clinton, Bush and yes, Obama, pledged to do the very same thing when they ran for the presidential office in 1992, 2000, and 2008, respectively. Not a peep from the political illuminati back then, but now…

Let’s face it, President Trump has the courage that his immediate forebears lacked, to put into motion the promises of his own campaign, as well as those of his three predecessors. Yet because it is Trump doing this, all hell has broken loose with almost universal condemnation of his recognition, which only goes to show the difference between a statesman who keeps his word, and politicians who routinely lie through their teeth. Clinton, Bush and Obama had absolutely no intention to follow through on this promise- a promise offered for the sole reason of gaining campaign contributions from those who support this recognition, namely Jews and sympathetic gentiles, alike. Once in office, each of these presidents refused to come within miles of following through on their promise to do so.

Interestingly enough, it was the United States which was the first nation to recognize the modern sovereign state of Israel back in 1948, by President Harry S. Truman- a Democrat, to boot. Therefore, it is altogether fitting and proper that the United States should be the first nation to formally acknowledge that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, almost seventy years later, and it’s been a long time coming.

Those opposed to President Trump’s declaration offer up a lot of blather that his doing so will thwart the so-called “peace process” aimed at bringing about a two-state solution to Israel and the Palestinians…some process! While Palestinians routinely launch rockets at and continue to commit terrorist violence against Israelis, and at the same time refuse to negotiate any treaty which includes the survival of Israel as an independent nation, it is Israel which continually offers a good-faith effort in these same negotiations. It is also Israel- alone among middle eastern countries, which guarantees freedom of religion to Muslims, Christians and Jews, alike. Nowhere else in that region of the world, does such freedom of religion exist.

To pretend that the continued refusal to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel is the way to achieve peace, is the errand of fools and the basis of a lie.

Jerusalem is, indeed, the capital of Israel today, just as Jerusalem was the capital of Israel three thousand years ago. Finally, we have a president who has the courage and clarity of thought to recognize the obvious.

Shalom and mazel tov!

-Drew Nickell, 7 December 2017

© 2017 by Drew Nickell, all rights reserved.
author of “Bending Your Ear- a Collection of Essays on the Issues of Our Times”
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