Recognizing Jerusalem

Rumor has it that President Trump this week will recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel while also noting that he expects East Jerusalem to someday be the capital of a Palestinian state. It’s a fine step toward solving the “move the US embassy” dilemma.

The president is under fire in some quarters for not living up to his vow to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The problem, foreign-policy pros warn, is that it’s sure to enrage the Palestinians and set back all peace efforts.

The “recognition” option would also likely cause a ruckus, but at least comes with a wave to equal treatment that should minimize the disruption. And, since Jerusalem actually is Israel’s capital, and has been for seven decades, the Palestinians and the rest of the world are going to have to get over it eventually anyway.

White House officials say that no final decision has been made about the embassy’s move, but The Wall Street Journal reports that the State Department has warned US embassies around the world to prepare for protests.

The move shouldn’t be controversial: Jewish ties to Jerusalem go back millennia. The holy city is the site of the First and Second Temples; it’s been Jews’ spiritual capital for millennia, even in times of exile.

Indeed, the controversy exposes a central barrier to peace: The Palestinians don’t want to recognize those basic facts, just as they don’t want to recognize Israel as a Jewish state. But that denial is their problem, and one the rest of the world shouldn’t keep enabling.

After all, if Palestinians can’t find a better cement for their own national identity than hating Israel, Zionism and the Jews, then they’re never going to build a state worth having — and they’ll simply remain the eternally suffering pawns of outside powers.