Israeli official in LV for Jerusalem pitch

U.N. ambassador seeks bipartisan backing

Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, plans to make a bipartisan pitch for recognizing Jerusalem as that nation’s capital when he addresses the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas on Saturday.

“I think it should be a bipartisan issue,” Danon said Friday.

On Dec. 6, President Donald Trump reversed decades of American foreign policy and formally recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Trump also announced he would move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“I think every Jew should welcome this decision by the president,” Danon said.

Danon arrived in Las Vegas ahead of a scheduled visit to the U.S. by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who will address the U.N. Security Council on Feb.

20. He is expected to ask the United Nations to grant the Palestinians full U.N. membership.

In December, the U.N. General Assembly voted 128-9 for a resolution that declared Trump’s Jerusalem declaration “null and void.” But as a permanent member of the Security Council, the United States almost certainly would veto any bid to grant Palestinians full membership.

The Trump administration has claimed Trump’s declaration has made an Israeli-palestinian peace deal more likely. Since Israel would never relinquish Jerusalem, the administration argues, it is better to just sweep the issue off the table.

Danon argued that if Abbas wants peace, “instead of flying all the way to New York, he should drive 20 minutes to Jerusalem.”

The Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership meeting began Friday and runs through Sunday at The Venetian and Palazzo resorts. The meeting will include appearances by House Speaker Paul Ryan, former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Mcdaniel and governors from Nebraska, Missouri and Wisconsin.

The Las Vegas Review-journal is owned by the family of Sheldon Adelson, a member of the board of directors for the Republican Jewish Coalition and chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands Corp., which owns The Venetian and Palazzo.

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7391. Follow @Debrajsaunders on Twitter.