UK must not copy Trump’s Jerusalem embassy move
IN RECENT weeks, there have been some voices — such as the Board of Deputies and Tory MP Michael Fabricant — calling on the UK to follow the US lead and move the UK embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
As Israelis, Jerusalem is our capital. Jerusalem has been the spiritual centre for the Jews ever since King David entered its gates more than 3,000 years ago. It became the official capital of the state of Israel on December 13, 1949, a year and half after the establishment of the state. It was the capital when the eastern part of the city was under Jordanian control, and remains its capital after the entire city was conquered in the Six-Day War in 1967. Still, we believe it would not be in the interests of Israel if the UK were to move the embassy to Jerusalem as a stand-alone, symbolic act, as did the US.
Israel was established as the democratic home for the Jewish people, in the spirit of its Declaration of Independence, as the need for such a home became evident after the Holocaust.
Israel will be able to preserve its Jewish and democratic identity only if a Palestinian state is established alongside it. That is because it is a Palestinian state where millions of Palestinians need to reside, and that is the only way in which Israel can include within its borders a clear Jewish majority.
Needless to say, as stipulated in the Declaration of Independence, the Jewish majority will have an obligation to respect the rights of the Arab minority which will remain Israeli citizens.
Two states for two peoples is the only formula which enables the preservation of Israel’s Jewish identity, democracy and security. The so-called one-state solution will likely lead to an apartheid regime, or to a continuous and violent chaos, or both.
The formula of two-states for two peoples, as has been shaped for more than 100 years since the Balfour Declaration, is based in UN resolutions which were accepted by the Israeli governments, and which are acceptable in principle by most Israelis, Palestinians, and the international community including the Arab League states.
In all the internationally-accepted incarnations of the two-states formula, the Israeli capital is defined to be in the Jewish neighbourhoods of Jerusalem, and the Palestinian capital in the Arab neighbourhoods of Jerusalem.
Thus, transferring the UK embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem will be a positive step only if done in the right context: either the context of the establishment of a Palestinian state, as part of an agreement between Israel and the Palestinians; or while simultaneously announcing plans for an eventual UK embassy in the eastern, Arab, part of Jerusalem, once a Palestinian state is established. But outside that context it will make the possibility of negotiations and constructive process more remote, and will likely increase the level of violence. That is exactly what happened following the transfer of the US embassy to Jerusalem — with increased violence and hundreds of fatalities.
Instead, the UK can play a constructive role by endorsing the vision of two states for two peoples, and encouraging the two sides to move forward by taking independent steps that gradually lead to such vision. The first steps would be towards disengaging from one another and creating a reality of two states on the ground, while preserving the conditions for an eventual negotiated agreement.
For example, constructive steps include ending subsidies for terror and incitement; a long-term Fatah-Hamas truce, allowing for rehabilitation in Gaza while preventing arming; an Israeli cessation of settlement building outside of the main settlement blocs. In addition, Israel must prepare for the relocation into Israel proper of settlers who currently live east of the security fence it built in the West Bank, while maintaining the security statusquo in the West Bank, including the presence of IDF.
Similarly, productive actions by the international community, of which the UK is an influential member, would include: presenting and vigorously pursuing a balanced two-states vision; promoting constructive steps that advance a reality of two states; unequivocally denouncing any act of terror, incitement and violence; recognizing a Palestinian state as a full UN member; coordinating a regional dialogue within the scope of the Arab Peace Initiative; assisting the establishment of a regional anti-Iran coalition.