Trump's Recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's Capital

This article first appeared in New English Review.


As a supporter of Israel, I support President Trump's recognition  of  Jerusalem as Israel's capital. It is long overdue. The fact of the matter is that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, and since Israel is our staunchest ally in the Middle East. we should recognize it as such.

We should also not wring our hands over the objections of the Arabs, the Europeans, or anyone else. First of all, the Europeans need to pay attention to their own problems. They are many and threaten the future existence of Europe. I am referring to the mass migration of millions of Muslims into Europe. They have not been invited, but come nevertheless. The Europeans (Eastern Europe excepted) have no clue as to what to do, so who are they to lecture us? The Czech Republic to its credit, has followed suit and recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

In addition, I am not swayed by arguments that Muslims in the Middle East and elsewhere will protest, riot or commit acts of terrorism in response. What else is new? They protest as I write and will likely riot in the coming days, not only in the Middle East, but as far away as Pakistan. So again: What  else is new? It's what they do. If, in the coming days, Gaza launches rockets into Israel or some Palestinian motorists runs down pedestrians in an Israeli city, will that be Trump's fault? They already do it.

And what about Palestinian/Arab/Muslim claims to Jerusalem anyway? The main reason Palestinians lay claim to Jerusalem is because Islam claims it as its third most sacred site. Why? Well, it seems the Prophet Mohammad claimed to have ridden on a winged horse to "the Farthest Mosque" (Jerusalem) and from there ascended to Heaven to meet with previous prophets. Islamic historiography claims that the Farthest Mosque was, in fact, Jerusalem. Of course, Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish nation of Israel centuries before Mohammad appeared in what is now present-day Saudi Arabia.

In addition, East Jerusalem was occupied by Jordan along with the West Bank from 1948-1967. During that period, Islam was declared the official religion, and Christians in East Jerusalem were restricted while Jewish sites and synagogues were destroyed. According to Islamist thinking any land that has come under Muslim control must remain so forever. Sorry, but American foreign policy must never be influenced by that kind of thinking.

Trump promised during the campaign that he would make this move, and this partially fulfills his promise. The next step is to find a site and begin construction of a new embassy. The Palestinians can register their objections, but they should do so in a civilized manner without resorting to attacks against American diplomatic personnel anywhere. Should such attacks occur, the world should take notice and take appropriate diplomatic measures in response, such as withdrawal of diplomatic recognition and/or a cutoff in aid to the Palestinians. Of course, I won't hold my breath on that. With Trump, however, the Palestinians should expect a suitable response.