Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Mnuchin: Embassy Opening Reminds Me Of Being A Boy At Temple

A few hours before the official ceremony opening the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem on Monday, the Orthodox Union threw a breakfast at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel to celebrate the occasion, where U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin used his address to share excitement over his “big part” at the upcoming event event.

Mnuchin said he was looking forward to his role unveiling the plaque in the ceremony, which he referred to as “pulling a little cord,” according to Jewish Insider

“This is a day I will always remember,” he said. It’s a day seventy years in the making. It’s a day twenty years after Congress passed a law to move the embassy to Jerusalem… There is another reason to move the embassy. As some of you know, the President was a real-estate developer, and he wanted the American embassy real-estate on the right side of the town, here in Jerusalem.

“I am personally waiting for my big part in the embassy this afternoon: I get to unveil the plaque, and I am told I do that by pulling a little cord,” he added. “The Ambassador asked, ‘Are you sure you know how to pull the cord?’ I said I’ve been doing this in Temple my whole life.”

Mnuchin also used the opportunity to call for increasing financial sanctions, which are overseen by the Treasury Department.

“I spend half my time monitoring the progress of sanctions. They work! We must stop of the flow of funds to terrorists and rogue regimes,” Mnuchin said.

The Orthodox Union brought together Israeli CEOs, U.S. and Israeli politicians, and Jewish leaders to show gratitude to President Trump and his administration for publicly recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Contact Alyssa Fisher at [email protected] or on Twitter, @alyssalfisher

A message from our Publisher & CEO 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

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.