Trump Flip-Flops On Moving Embassy To Jerusalem — Says ‘We’ll See’
Moving the American embassy to Jerusalem was once a cornerstone of President Trump’s new cozy policy to Israel — a powerful statement about the Donald’s commitment to the “eternal capital of the Jewish state.”
It was so crucial that the incoming president considered decreeing the move at a minute after midnight on inauguration day.
Now it’s one option to be considered at some unspecified time in the future, if and when it makes sense to U.S. policymakers. In other words: Don’t hold your breath.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said when questioned about his commitment to the move during a joint press conference with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu.
So much for a clean break that the Orange One promised from previous administrations, Republican and Democratic, that saw the move as untenable.
Trump has apparently been listening to advisers that warn him that moving the embassy could enrage the Arab world and make achieving other goals (got peace talks?) even more difficult.
It remains to be seen how Jewish right-wingers in and out of Israel will respond to what should be a bitter betrayal over the embassy move.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO