Trump shouldn’t rush Israel embassy decision

In the most turbulent week of his presidency, give Donald Trump credit for this: he is putting real thought into the consequences of moving the American embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a relocation he promised during the campaign.

For Trump, this is progress. Too often on matters relating to Israel, the president has shot from the hip, only to later walk back his comments.

It’s got to be a relief for Trump to leave the country tomorrow on his first overseas trip — this one to Israel, Saudi Arabia, Rome, Brussels and Sicily.

It’s a chance to change the narrative away from having fired FBI director James Comey, having given classified intelligence to the Russians and having allegedly asked Comey to drop the investigation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

But it is unfortunate the trip begins with a dust-up over his planned visit to the Western Wall — one of the holiest sites in Judaism — in Jerusalem’s Old City.

According to the Associated Press, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked to join Trump on the visit, but was told it would be private. A member of the president’s advance team reportedly went further — saying the wall is “not your territory,” a response Netanyahu’s office “received with astonishment.” A White House spokesman later said the comment didn’t reflect the president’s position, but the president’s national security adviser declined Tuesday to say whether the Western Wall is in Israel.

A diplomatic spat is hardly a good launching pad for the president’s trip. But when it comes to Israel, this is hardly the first time Trump has left people slackjawed.

During the campaign, Trump said a two-state solution was key to a peace deal. But a month after his inauguration, he said he could “live with” a twostate or one-state solution for Mideast peace. “I’m happy with the one they like the best,” he said.

Also during the campaign, Trump said he supported Israel building settlements in the occupied West Bank, land claimed by Palestinians. And he appointed David Friedman — a strong supporter of settlement-building — as the ambassador to Israel.

Then in February, the president told an Israeli newspaper he didn’t believe “going forward with these settlements is a good thing for peace.” And he’s told Netanyahu to “hold back on settlements for a little bit.”

Also on the campaign trail, Trump clearly promised to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Now, though, he’s holding back, with good reason.

“(Trump) has taken a very deliberative

approach to understanding the issue itself, listening to input from all interested parties in the region, and understanding, in the context of a peace initiative, what impact would such a move have,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

We’re glad to hear the president has become more deliberative. But can you believe it?

Remember, he suggested his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, an Orthodox Jew, could negotiate a peace settlement where so many others have failed.

And after meeting with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas this month, he said of a peace deal: “It is something that I think is frankly, maybe, not as difficult as people have thought over the years.”

Wow. What an uninformed statement, especially considering that every president — starting with Harry Truman — has tried to broker a Middle East peace deal since Israel became a state in 1948.

To understand the complexity, you have to understand the hatred and distrust that has existed between Jews and Palestinians for centuries.

Not as difficult as people have thought? Hardly.

This week, the question of the embassy is likely to take center stage.

Israel considers Jerusalem to be its eternal capital and wants all foreign countries to place their embassies there. Netanyahu is a determined advocate of moving the U.S. embassy there.

But Palestinians also claim Jerusalem as their capital. And the United Nations, which is often overtly anti-Israel, does not recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

To move the American embassy now would essentially mean the U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, a move that could impede any chance of further peace talks. American presidents have long talked of such a move, but have held off for fear of destroying the fragile co-existence between Israel and its neighbors, many of whom deny its right to exist.

Trump would obviously be thrilled — as would we all — if he could negotiate peace between Israelis and Palestinians. But it’s folly to think such an outcome is “not as difficult as people think.”

Who knows what tomorrow will bring in Trump’s whiplash administration. But for today, we applaud the president’s decision to forego a hasty move on the embassy.

Trump would obviously be thrilled — as would we all — if he could negotiate peace between Israelis and Palestinians. But it’s folly to think such an outcome is “not as difficult as people think.”