Glick: I’m going to inauguration ‘in the name of Jerusalem,’
Lawmaker tells ‘Post’ he’ll participate in multi-faith prayer wishing luck to president-elect
On Wednesday MK Yehudah Glick (Likud) is scheduled to fly to Washington DC in order to attend the inauguration ceremony of president-elect Donald Trump on Friday.
During his trip, Glick will participate in a multi-faith prayer to the success of the incoming president.
“Actually I already started my prayer on Monday in the Knesset plenum,” Glick told The Jerusalem Post. “I quoted Psalms 72, a prayer that wishes to give power to the king to be successful with achieving peace, prosperity and to advance the world in the right path.”
“I was invited by an organization called Hayovel. This Christian organization sends hundreds of young adults to Israel each year to work in agriculture, mainly in Samaria. Now they are having this prayer along with other pro-Zionist organizations. I am glad to continue my multi-cultural activities abroad,” he added.
Glick admits that he wasn’t a Trump fan along the way. During the elections campaigns, he criticized Trump regarding the way he speaks and acts. “It’s no secret that I criticized Trump, I do not like his patronizing and arrogant attitude.”
After the release of recordings in October 2016 that show Trump speaking in depraved and demeaning terms about women, Glick wrote on Twitter, “OK, I was wrong. While everywhere you see that the man is a savage, I tried to ignore and believe despite it all... I was wrong! Mr. Trump, go home. Enough is enough!”
However, Glick sees an opportunity in this trip to meet the new administration personnel and to promote his causes. “Because the United States is such a powerful country, it is important to establish those connections and meet the leaders of the institutions that could help us.”
“I hope to deliver to those people my message, which is that Jerusalem is the city of peace. It is an international city for all people, Jews and non-Jews, and it’s the city of global peace that knows how to bring people together. I come carrying the name of Jerusalem for this cause and I will reiterate it in all of my meetings,” he said/
Glick expresses satisfaction from the stances that Trump and his Vice President-elect Mike Pence have shown so far regarding Israel. He dismisses the notion that the new administration will bring instability to the region, and hopes that its officials will adopt his ways in solving the conflict.
“Major changes are naturally creating big concerns. But like earthquakes, after a while things get balanced again.
“I believe that my way of understanding interfaith relations between Jews and Muslims is the path for peace. From my understanding, most of the Trump administration... supports building [in the West Bank] and expanding settlements. I believe that this is the way to achieve peace. At some point the Palestinians will understand that this is what is best for them. I am optimistic, and I think that we have an opportunity here that we should not miss,” he said
When asked about the option of moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem, Glick said that if it would be done in the right way, it could actually happen. “There is no doubt that there will be pressures from all sides. But if the administration will show that they do not stutter on this matter and they are determined, after a short period of time people will align with that. Our capital is Jerusalem and I see no reason why all countries should not move their embassies there.”
When it comes to Temple Mount – an issue that is close to his heart – Glick believes that the new administration will okay a move to change the status quo, but it should come first from the Israelis. “The US does not decide what happens on Temple Mount. The Israeli people need to show that they want to change the status quo, and then our government should do the same. Only if we will do it so, I think that the Trump administration will support us, unlike the current administration. Anyway, it should not be solved when one side crushes the other. We should find a win-win situation in order to coexist here,” Glick concluded