Wiesenthal Center ‘Very Disappointed’ After Trump Delays Israel Embassy Move

Rabbi Marvin Hier Image by Getty Images

By Josh Nathan-Kazis June 2, 2017

After the end of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot on Thursday night, which kept observant Jews offline, condemnations of President Trump’s announcement that he would not immediately move the U.S. embassy to Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem began to flow in.

The first comes from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, whose leader, Rabbi Marvin Hier, has been a Trump defender.

“The Simon Wiesenthal Center is very disappointed by President Trump’s decision to delay transfer of the US Embassy to Jerusalem,” the group said in a statement. “We are certain that the Trump Administration is very well aware that no Israeli Prime Minister will ever cede sovereignty over Jerusalem. The city is and will remain the undivided capital of Israel.”

Like presidents before him, Trump had promised during the campaign to move the embassy. And like presidents before him, he reneged on the promise. Diplomatic and security experts say that moving the embassy could inflame regional tensions.

Contact Josh Nathan-Kazis at [email protected] or on Twitter, @joshnathankazis.

Josh Nathan-Kazis is a staff writer for the Forward. He covers charities and politics, and writes investigations and longform.

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