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And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it...
...In that day will I make the governors of Judah like an hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem...
... In that day shall the Lord defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:2-3, 6, 8-9
During the 1979 Canadian federal election campaign, Progressive Conservative Party leader Joe Clark, Leader of the Opposition, promised, if his party formed the government, to move Canada's embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It was widely believed that Mr. Clark made that promise in order to boost the chances of PC candidate Ron Atkey in the Toronto riding of St. Paul's. If that was the idea, it worked; Mr. Atkey was elected, and the Progressive Conservatives won a plurality of seats in the House of Commons, ending 16 years of Liberal Party government, the last 11 years under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Mr. Clark became Prime Minister of a minority government, and Mr. Atkey was named Minister of Employment and Immigration. Mr. Clark failed to keep his promise, and within nine months, the government had fallen, and another election had resulted in Mr. Trudeau being returned to power with a majority of seats in the House of Commons. Mr. Atkey was among the PC MPs who lost their seats, and he never returned to active politics.
U.S. President Donald Trump has acknowledged reality by declaring Jerusalem to be the capital of Israel, and has promised to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Let's watch and see if he keeps his promise, and what results from his words and actions on the subject.
As reported by Matthew Lee and Bradley Klapper of Associated Press, December 7, 2017:
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump shattered decades of unwavering U.S. neutrality on Jerusalem Wednesday, declaring the sorely divided holy city as Israel’s capital and sparking frustrated Palestinians to cry out that he had destroyed already-fragile Mideast hopes for peace.Mr. Trump's move is already serving to reveal divisions among Arabs, as reported by Zeina Karam of Associated Press, December 7, 2017:
Defying dire, worldwide warnings, Trump insisted that after repeated peace failures it was past time for a new approach, starting with what he said was his decision merely based on reality to recognize Jerusalem as the seat of Israel’s government. He also said the United States would move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, though he set no timetable.
“We cannot solve our problems by making the same failed assumptions and repeating the same failed strategies of the past,” Trump said, brushing aside the appeals for caution from around the world.
Harsh objections came from a wide array of presidents and prime ministers. From the Middle East to Europe and beyond, leaders cautioned Trump that any sudden change on an issue as sensitive as Jerusalem not only risks blowing up the new Arab-Israeli peace initiative led by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, but could lead to new violence in the region.
No government beyond Israel spoke up in praise of Trump or suggested it would follow his lead.
Israelis and Palestinians reacted in starkly different terms. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Trump’s announcement as an “important step toward peace,” and Israeli opposition leaders echoed his praise. But Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Trump’s shift serves extremist groups that want religious war and signals U.S. withdrawal from being a peace mediator. Protesters in Gaza burned American and Israeli flags.
Trump’s declaration of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is a powerfully symbolic statement about a city that houses many of the world’s holiest sites. Trump cited several: the Western Wall that surrounded the Jews’ ancient Temple, the Stations of the Cross that depict Jesus along his crucifixion path, the al-Asqa Mosque where Muslims say their Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven.
And there are major ramifications over who should control the territory. The United States has never endorsed the Jewish state’s claim of sovereignty over any part of Jerusalem and has seen the city’s future as indelibly linked to the “deal of the century” between Israel and the Palestinians that Trump believes he can reach. Beyond Kushner, Trump has dispatched other top emissaries to the region in recent months in hopes of advancing new negotiations.
Trump said he wasn’t delivering any verdict about where an Israeli-Palestinian border should lie. Instead, he described his Jerusalem declaration as recognizing the reality that most of Israel’s government already operates from the city, and he suggested the U.S. ally should be rewarded for creating a successful democracy where “people of all faiths are free to live and worship.”
“Today we finally acknowledge the obvious,” he said, emphasizing that he wouldn’t follow past presidents who tiptoed around Jerusalem out of diplomatic caution.
U.S. embassies and consulates around the world were put on high alert. Across the Middle East and Europe, they issued warnings to Americans to watch out for violent protests. In Jordan, home to a large Palestinian population, the U.S. said it would close its embassy to the public Thursday and urged children of diplomats there to stay home from school...
...For the first time, Trump did appear to endorse the concept of an independent Palestine existing alongside Israel. Yet even that idea appeared conditional, as he said he’d promote the “two-state solution” if both sides agreed. Netanyahu’s government is dominated by hardliners who oppose Palestinian independence.
Trump made no reference to signing a waiver that officially delays any move of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, but the White House confirmed he signed the waiver Wednesday. It means there will be no embassy move for at least another six months. Establishing a Jerusalem embassy was a major campaign promise of Trump’s and one that officials said he focused on in discussions with top advisers in recent weeks.
On Wednesday he focused on his directive to the State Department to begin a process of moving the embassy as required by U.S. law, however many years that might take. After his speech, he signed a proclamation to that effect...
Beirut--...Jerusalem, a cherished and combustible landmark, is one of the very few unifying issues in an Arab world plagued by wars and sectarianism. But even the prospect of Trump recognizing it as Israel’s capital became a reason for bickering between the Middle East’s Sunni and Shiite powerhouses, Saudi Arabia and Iran, who are engaged in a catastrophic proxy war for supremacy in the region.Mr. Trump's move fulfilled a promise he made when campaigning for the 2016 Republican Party U.S. presidential nomination. As reported by Jewish Telegraphic Agency, January 19, 2016 (link in original):
“If half the funds spent by some rulers in the region to encourage terrorism, extremism, sectarianism and incitement against neighbors was spent on liberating Palestine, we wouldn’t be facing today this American egotism,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said in a tweet Wednesday, clearly directed at Saudi Arabia...
...Saudi Arabia, a regional powerhouse that could help the White House push through a Middle East settlement, has voiced strong opposition to Trump’s move, saying it would “provoke sentiments of Muslims throughout the world.”
Trump’s move puts the Sunni nation, whose king holds the title of “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques,” in a bind. The kingdom, particularly its powerful crown prince, Mohammad Bin Salman, enjoys close relations with Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner — a relationship that the Saudis need and cannot afford to compromise.
While the Saudis can at least on the surface pressure Trump and distance themselves from Israelis, they will almost certainly continue to cooperate on intelligence sharing regarding Iran.
For its part, Iran will seize upon Trump’s move to show itself the defender of Muslims — and Saudi Arabia cannot be seen as acting any less forceful in its opposition to recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital...
...Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt have invested in good relations with the United States and are at odds with fellow Arab countries over political and religious differences. Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen are mired in wars and conflict, and entire cities have been laid to waste.
Sunni-led Gulf Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, share with Israel a deep distrust of Shiite power Iran and their relations with Israel have somewhat thawed.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to this Wednesday. While he acknowledged that Israel won’t be able to sign peace treaties with the Arabs without a deal on the Palestinians, he implied that ties have already been established and have plenty of room to grow.
“Peace treaties, no. Everything else below that, yes, and it’s happening,” he said...
...Reflecting opinion in much of the Arab world, two leading Lebanese newspapers issued front page rebukes to Trump over his expected announcement.
The An-Nahar newspaper compared the U.S. president to the late British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour, who a century ago famously promised Palestine as a national home to the Jewish People, in what is known as the Balfour declaration.
The paper’s Wednesday headline read: “Trump, Balfour of the century, gifts Jerusalem to Israel.”
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Donald Trump said he would move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem.As reported by David Brody, January 19, 2016:
“They want it in Jerusalem,” the front-runner among Republican presidential candidates said in an interview posted Tuesday by The Brody File, a Christian Broadcasting Network show. “Well I am for that 100 percent. We are for that 100 percent.”
David Brody, the CBN journalist, had asked Trump whether he agreed with GOP rivals, including Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who have pledged to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem once elected.
Trump’s agreement seemed to be an about-face from remarks in December at the Republican Jewish Coalition, when the real estate magnate refused to commit to recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s undivided capital.
Speaking over boos at that event, Trump said it was foolish to harden positions ahead of talks.
“You can’t go in with the attitude ‘we’re gonna shove it down your,’ you’ve got to go in and get it and do and do it nicely, so that everybody’s happy,” he said there.
Congress passed a law in 1995 mandating the move of the embassy to Jerusalem, but allowed the president a waiver. Each president since then has routinely exercised the waiver, citing the national security interests of the United States.
Trump, who also drew boos at the RJC event for suggesting Israelis and Palestinians were equally culpable for the collapse of the peace process, told Brody evangelicals should know he would be good for Israel.
Calling President Barack Obama “the worst thing that has ever happened to Israel” for negotiating the recent Iran-nuclear deal, Trump pledged loyalty to Israel.
“I will be very good to Israel,” he said. “People know that. I have so many friends from Israel. I have won so many awards from Israel. I was even the grand marshal for the Israeli Day Parade a few years ago. So I will back Israel.”
In an exclusive interview with The Brody File, Donald Trump says he is, “100%” in favor of moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He also believes the Iran/U.S. nuclear deal is, “going to actually lead to nuclear proliferation.” And as for President Obama? He says, “We have a president that I think is the worst thing that has ever happened to Israel.” Watch the clip below.Some people, including this blogger, consider equating Donald Trump with Arthur Balfour to be high praise for Mr. Trump. See my post 100 years ago: The Balfour Declaration paves the way for fulfillment of biblical prophecy (November 2, 2017).
The Brody File sat down with Trump at Liberty University in Lynchburg Virginia on Monday afternoon. The more Trump talks about his, “love” for Israel, the more he will endear himself to them.
David Brody:“ Israel, I know you’ve been talking to the Republican Jewish Coalition about this, it’s a tier-A issue for Evangelicals as it relates to support for Israel. What about this whole embassy question? This idea that the embassy is in Tel Aviv… Cruz and Rubio…”
Donald Trump: “And they want it in Jerusalem. Well I am for that one hundred percent. We are for that one- hundred percent.”
David Brody: “ Tell me a little bit about why you believe you’re a staunch defender of Israel?”
Donald Trump: “ Well, I just see what is happening and I am so saddened by this Iran deal. It’s one of the worst deals I’ve ever seen under any circumstances, any deal, not just deals between nations. I think it’s a tremendous liability to Israel. I think it’s going to actually lead to nuclear proliferation and it’s going to cause a lot of problems. I will be very good to Israel. People know that. I have so many friends from Israel. I have won so many awards from Israel. I was even the grand marshal for the Israeli Day Parade a few years ago. So I will back Israel. We have a president that I think is the worst thing that has ever happened to Israel. But I will be backing it very strongly. They’re our best ally. They’re our best ally in the Middle East. They’ve really been loyal to us. We have not been loyal to them. ”
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