Jerusalem welcomes new US Embassy
JERUSALEM – A joyous ceremony marked the inauguration of the new U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, a largely symbolic step that nonetheless is of deep political significance.
The ceremony – attended by President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka – capped Trump’s pledge to shift the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to offer diplomatic recognition to Israel’s capital, Jerusalem.
Successive speakers who took the stage at Monday’s ceremony said that they firmly believed the embassy move was long overdue and was, in fact, a positive step to- ward peace.
The U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, kicked off the proceedings by recalling the declaration of the state of Israel by the country’s first prime minister, David Ben Gurion, on May 14, 1948.
“Seventy years later, the United States is taking the next step of moving the embassy to Jerusalem,” he said.
In his video address, Trump said the move was a long time in coming and added that the “United States remains fully committed to facilitating a lasting peace agreement.”
Kushner, the president’s son-inlaw and adviser, echoed those sentiments, saying: “We believe it is possible for both sides to gain more than they give - so that all people can live in peace, safe from danger, free from fear, and able to pursue their dreams.”
The Arab League called a crisis meeting to discuss the “illegal” U.S. Embassy shift, and the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation called it an “attack on the historical, legal, natural and national rights of the Palestinian people.”
For now, the embassy move is mostly symbolic - really just the addition of a plaque on the wall of the existing consulate in Jerusalem. Only the ambassador and a core staff will move to Jerusalem during the first phase. And less than $400,000 has been spent so far to increase security and to enable the embassy to start functioning.
Yet the newly chiseled sign has brought with it clear vindication for Israel, which united the western and eastern sides of Jerusalem 51 years ago following its victory in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.
Speaking at the event, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was a “glorious day.”
“Remember this moment, this is history,” he said. “President Trump, by recognizing history, you have made history.”
Later, he tweeted a photograph of himself and his wife, Sara, with Ivanka Trump and Kushner and the new plaque.
“What a great day for the great American-Israeli alliance,” he wrote.
“It has been a day of dilemma,” said Minister of Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi. “We wanted this to happen for 70 years and we don’t want the celebrations to end.”
Asked for his reaction to events along the Gaza border, Hanegbi said: “It is very sad and tragic that Hamas has learned nothing over the last 70 years. So many decades have passed since they made the wrong decision in 1948 and now 70 years later they still can’t accept Israel.”
Hanegbi was referring to Palestinian resistance to the creation of the Israeli state; Hamas, the terrorist organization that is in control of Gaza, was founded in 1987.