From the consul general
Israel’s top Southwest diplomat talks with Journal Washington correspondent Michael Coleman about today’s historic events
WASHINGTON — Gilad Katz, consul general of Israel to the Southwest, spoke with the Journal on Monday about what he sees as the significance of the embassy move, the fresh bloodshed, a nuclear Iran and the future of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. With his office in Houston, Katz maintains a portfolio of seven Western states that includes New Mexico, and an open line of communication with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Katz’s comments have been edited slightly for brevity.
Journal: Why was this embassy move so important to Jewish people in Israel and around the world?
Katz: It’s important on a few levels. Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish state since the days of King David more than 3,000 years ago. Seventy years ago, Israel was founded … and now the superpower — our biggest and strongest and most valuable ally — decided not only to recognize Jerusalem as its capital but to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to its capital. I think finally justice has been made, meaning not just in the interest of the Jewish state but like any other state when one country can decide for herself which city will be her capital. Eventually, the standing of Jerusalem as the only capital of the Jewish state will also help move the peace process forward.
Journal: How is that? Some say it only further inflames tensions.
Katz: The minute they (the Palestinians) know that America — the superpower — stands behind Israel on this very important core issue that related to our definition of the Jewish state … they will adjust just as we, the Israelis, adjusted with the Oslo accords of the 1990s. It will take a while, but I think the minute they understand they will really adjust to the idea that Jerusalem is the capital of the state of Israel. As long as they wished or hoped that Jerusalem belonged to them, then there is nothing we can talk about.
Journal: This celebration occurred today in Jerusalem against a backdrop of extensive bloodshed less than 40 miles away at the Gaza border, where Israeli troops killed at least 58 Palestinian protesters and injured 2,400 more, according to news reports. Why do you think this happened? And what impact might it have on Israeli-Palestinian relations?
Katz: There is no connection whatsoever between the opening of the embassy and the riots on the fence today at the Gaza Strip on the border. The riots began more than five weeks ago. We are not talking about innocent rioters. People have to understand the Iranians are funding Hamas and they’re giving them money to keep up and try to enlarge the riots. We are talking about the radical regimes that call the United States the big Satan. We have to understand where Hamas stands. Hamas uses its own people — men, women, children the elderly and make them — even force them — to walk toward the border fence. The Israelis will not allow them to penetrate into Israel. They have a very specific goal, which is killing as many Israelis as possible. The first duty of any sovereign country is to protect its citizens from forces from the outside who want to kill them. We tried to let them know in advance that we would not allow any Palestinians to penetrate the fence. We did that on a daily basis. When one or two thousand or three thousand rush to our border with cocktail bombs and rocks and ammunition and whatever they have, what can we do? We can’t just sit there and do nothing. We are against bloodshed; we are against violence. Israel doesn’t want any innocent person dead, that is for sure. That is our perspective — we cherish life. But we have to see the broad picture.
Journal: What is your assessment of the Trump administration’s role in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, led by the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner?
Katz: I don’t want to get into it because they have yet to decide where and when or how they will petition their peace proposal, but they are doing their utmost and they understand the complexity of the situation and that the atmosphere isn’t at its best. But I really do praise them for trying and for understanding, because giving up is not an option for Israel. We really do want to live in a peaceful way with our neighbors, and that includes the Palestinians. We strived for peace with the Egyptians, and we have a peace treaty with them. Same applies with the Jordanians. We are trying to do the same thing with the Palestinians, but they have to decide for themselves where they want to go. Do they want to keep on trying to demolish the Jewish state or do they want to live side by side with us in a peaceful way?
Journal: What do you make of President Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Iranian nuclear deal?
Katz: Iran is the biggest threat to Israel today, as we well know. I praise the president of the United States for backing out of the nuclear deal with Iran, because in our eyes, that deal was a danger to the existential future of Israel. I think this was the first step in trying to stabilize the Middle East. Iran is a threat to the democratic world. They don’t believe in democratic values, freedom of religion or the press or whatever. It is the biggest threat to the western Democratic world, and we, Israel, are standing on the front lines, and we will not allow the Iranians through their proxies to threaten us or maim us with their missiles. We will stand firm and we will protect ourselves and fight each and every one who tries to kill our civilians. That’s our very simple equation and will stick to that as long as we think we have to.