Vice President Mike Pence is in Israel today, and standing before the Israeli parliament, he stated that the U.S. Embassy in Israel would be relocated to Jerusalem by the end of 2019.

How they intend to make that happen and what steps are being taken are not immediately clear.

From Reuters:

“In the weeks ahead, our administration will advance its plan to open the United States Embassy in Jerusalem – and that United States Embassy will open before the end of next year,” Pence said.

“Jerusalem is Israel’s capital – and, as such, President Trump has directed the State Department to immediately begin preparations to move the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.”

Immediately. So we should be hearing something about what is being done, soon.

To give Pence props, when his speech was disrupted by Israeli Arab parliament members and their ludicrous protest signs reading: Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine – he didn’t flinch.

I’ll just let it go that these were members of Israel’s parliament, equal members, protesting the nation they live in. If they were being treated unfairly by Israel, how is it that they have a seat in Israel’s government?

Good grief.

Pence offered:

“It is deeply humbling for me to stand before this vibrant democracy.”

That’s right. Grin and let them go.

Responding to Pence’s speech, Nabil Abu Rdainah, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said: “If the United States wanted to a play a role of a mediator in the peace process it must be a fair mediator and it must abide by (international) resolutions.”

Except the international community is made up of a slithering, atrocious cabal of anti-Semites, so I’m pretty sure your assessment of what is “fair” might be a bit off.

Pence went on to say that the stated position of Jerusalem as Israel’s eternal capital is based on fact over fiction.

Good.

Pence, an evangelical Christian, drew parallels between Jewish history dating back to biblical times and the European pilgrims who founded the United States. He was greeted with ovations by Israeli legislators throughout his speech.

Noting that Israel will in May mark 70 years since its founding – in a war Palestinians mourn as a catastrophe – Pence switched to Hebrew to recite a Jewish prayer of thanksgiving.

Nice touch.

The struggle for the right to call Jerusalem their capital began after Israel was attacked by several Arab nations in 1967, in the Six Day War.

Tiny Israel kicked butt and took names – along with the eastern portion of Jerusalem – and the Palestinians have whined that they want it back, ever since, so they can call it their capital.

The international community (the aforementioned slithering cabal of anti-Semites) have largely sided with Palestine and condemn Israel for its refusal to “give back” what has always been theirs eastern Jerusalem.

Let’s just break this down into simple, real world terms:

You get jumped by a group of bullies, as you’re minding your own business. You turn around and end up beating the brakes off of all of them, and after defending yourself successfully, you take one of the bullies’ shoes.

Are you obligated to give that bully who attacked you his shoes back?

No. If he liked his shoes, he should have kept them home, or at the library, or out doing something good in the neighborhood, instead of trying to hurt somebody and causing trouble, in general.

Now Israel has Palestine’s shoes. They need to accept that they messed up in 1967.

Welcoming Pence to the parliament, Netanyahu said he was the first U.S. vice president to have been accorded the honor.

Israel and the United States “are striving together to achieve a true peace, lasting peace, peace with all our neighbors, including the Palestinians,” Netanyahu said.

He reiterated his long-standing demand that the Palestinians recognize “the Jewish people’s right to a nation state in its land, a nation state of its own here in the land of Israel”. The Palestinians have ruled out such recognition, saying it would disadvantage Israel’s Arab minority.

They’re so disadvantaged, they have no say in how Israel’s government is operated.

OH… wait… they actually have a seat in parliament, but choose to use their voice to act the fool.

And for Christians reading this with glee, just a reminder: Moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem is not the same as rebuilding the temple on the Temple Mount, so chill out. We’re not quite there, yet.