White House vows to stand firm on Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital

[DonViejo]

By Anne Gearan December 23 at 3:42 PM

The Trump administration has scrambled to contain the remarkably broad international rejection of its new policy toward the divided city of Jerusalem, including from important allies — using threats, assurances and a cold shoulder to try to limit the diplomatic damage.

Trump’s announcement this month that the United States recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and has initiated the process of relocating the U.S. Embassy there has caused an extraordinary breach with key allies such as Egypt, Jordan, Britain, France and Japan, many of which have characterized the move as shortsighted at best.

Not one major ally or geopolitical leader has pledged to follow the U.S. lead. Many have also spoken in new and starkly critical fashion against Trump’s break with 50 years of diplomatic convention that treats Jerusalem — holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians and claimed as a capital by two peoples — as an open question to be resolved only through negotiations.

At the same time, the worst fears of allies and some U.S. diplomats have not materialized. U.S. embassies were not immediately sacked, nor were American tourists or troops targeted for revenge.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/white-house-vows-to-stand-firm-on-trumps-recognition-of-jerusalem-as-israels-capital/2017/12/23/250077aa-e68e-11e7-ab50-621fe0588340_story.html

[no_hypocrisy]

1. A symbolic empty gesture IMO.

Trump stands alone with Israel in "recognizing" Jerusalem (all of it) as the capital of the Jewish State. No other countries plan to move their embassies and build new ones in the city, let alone join him in this "recognition". To his frustration, Trump has discovered that the United States does not speak for the rest of the world.

All Trump has done has been to complicate the peace process (or resurrect it) and to unite the Arab world against Israel again. There will be protests, violence, and death because of Trump not signing another six-month waiver and the declaration. He probably didn't believe there would be such an outcry.