At 9 a.m. this morning, the US Embassy officially moved to Jerusalem. The opening was timed to coincide with the 70th anniversary of Israel’s independence. It represents both the fulfillment of a campaign promise by then-candidate Donald Trump and the culmination of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995.
U.S. Embassy opening in Jerusalem will be covered live on @FoxNews & @FoxBusiness. Lead up to 9:00 A.M. (eastern) event has already begun. A great day for Israel!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 14, 2018
FOX NEWS ALERT: Live look from the new U.S. Embassy site in Jerusalem just hours ahead of its official opening pic.twitter.com/SRjEf7Iow0
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) May 14, 2018
The movement of the US Embassy to Jerusalem reorders the outlines of a proposed peace settlement that has failed to gain agreement from the Palestinians since the days of the Carter Administration (what did Einstein call doing the same thing over and over an expecting different results?) and it reflects the general strategy being implemented by the Trump administration. The threat of Iranian aggression has pushed the Arab world closer to the United States. Hamas cozying up to Lebanese Hezbollah has made working with them much more problematic for Arab states. In fact, the efforts by Hamas to further destabilize Sinai have improved cooperation between Israeli and Egyptian security forces. With the threat of widespread anti-Israel demonstrations off the table, the Trump administration has reacted to Palestinian intransigence by withdrawing things. US monetary support for the Palestinian authority is now under review because of the stipends it pays to the families of terrorists. Israel has been given the go-ahead to increase housing density in existing settlements effectively making those settlements a permanent part of Israel rather than bargaining chips. And now the pipe dream of a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem is effectively gone.
Today marks the historic opening of the #USEmbassyJerusalem
Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump and the US team who made this long overdue decision & to the Israeli people who deserve to have Jerusalem treated like every other capitalhttps://t.co/ZaPcRiE6pd
— Jim Hanson (@JimHansonDC) May 14, 2018
We are happy to host the distinguished US delegation in Israel representing President Trump: Deputy Secretary of State John J. Sullivan, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Jason Greenblatt, Amb. David Friedman, Ivanka Trump & Jared Kushner. Welcome to Jerusalem – our capital! pic.twitter.com/uUwD6O80Vo
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) May 13, 2018
Trump: "Today we officially opened the United States embassy in Jerusalem. Congratulations. It’s been a long time coming." https://t.co/SosVGmgNzi
— Meg Wagner (@megwagner) May 14, 2018
The Palestinians scheduled demonstrations for today to try to overshadow the embassy move.
At least 18 Palestinians in Gaza shot dead by Israeli troops, say Palestinian officials, ahead of opening of US embassy in Jerusalemhttps://t.co/o96BMBd0l3
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 14, 2018
Deadly clashes erupt at Gaza-Israel border protests ahead of the opening of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem.
At least 18 people have been killed. https://t.co/KyOiWxtENq pic.twitter.com/MIVbnjEEbR
— ABC News (@ABC) May 14, 2018
LIVE UPDATES: Jerusalem Embassy and Gaza Protests: 37 Palestinians Reported Killed by Israeli Gunfire at Borderhttps://t.co/IZQPXcynho pic.twitter.com/55jt8CVCEU
— Haaretz.com (@haaretzcom) May 14, 2018
https://twitter.com/LauraLoomer/status/995970014279819266
The Arab League has called an emergency meeting on the subject. There will be some harrumphing but, ultimately, they will do nothing as this move was baked into their domestic politics months ago.
And many nations refused to attend.
Foreign envoys shun U.S. embassy launch in Jerusalem https://t.co/CnYX3Vv4DR
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) May 14, 2018
I’m still waiting to hear from the rabid NeverTrumpers who swore that Trump would never move the US embassy to Jerusalem…well, I’m not actually waiting because we all know they will never concede Trump is not the Anti-Christ.
Among those failing to attend were a single Democrat member of Congress despite the fact that all had been invited. The only prominent Democrat in attendance was Connecticut’s Joe Lieberman.
Amazingly, not a single elected Democrat is here to celebrate this historic event in Jerusalem, a bonafide signal that they do not stand with Israel.
This snub will not soon be forgotten—not in America or abroad. #USEmbassyJerusalem #PromisesMade #Promises kept pic.twitter.com/HovwB7ePpX— Candace Owens (@RealCandaceO) May 14, 2018
I saw some reports that suggest the ceremonies around the opening to the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem were bipartisan and included democrats too. This is not an accurate description – and I am being very diplomatic here. No democrats from the Senate or the house are attending
— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) May 14, 2018
Not correct. Every member of Congress was invited through the congressional delegation (codel) of congress member Joe Wilson who opened his codel to any member who wanted to come. People involved in the process blame the democratic leadership of congress blocked its members https://t.co/7PKqEE6RPn
— Ariel Kahana אריאל כהנא (@arik3000) May 14, 2018
Congress Member Dennis Ross also confirm to me: all congress members were invited to the ceremony. Also blame the Democrats didn’t come for political reasons. @RepDennisRoss https://t.co/wbpROaKAa8
— Ariel Kahana אריאל כהנא (@arik3000) May 14, 2018
Sort of pathetic that the handful of longtime supporters of Israel in the Democrat caucus in Congress decided to try to spite Trump by making the embassy opening a purely partisan affair rather than giving him credit for the courage to reject conventional wisdom and the experts who have been wrong for fifty years and do what was right.
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