Trump's Jerusalem Declaration: Anything But Obvious -Tsvi Sadan ISRAEL TODAY

Trump's Jerusalem Declaration: Anything But Obvious

Thursday, December 07, 2017 |  Tsvi Sadan  ISRAEL TODAY

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Jerusalem

Yesterday evening, the United States of America under the presidency of Donald Trump finally recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Though some may shrug their shoulders and say that he only stated the obvious (Trump himself said as much), the fact that for 70 years the US has refused to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital proves that Trump's bold decision was anything but obvious.

That most nations refuse to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital is a testimony to the fact that Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land is still a bitter pill for most to swallow.

Through concealed behind the smokescreen of "occupation," the fact is that Jerusalem has served as Israel's de facto capital since 1948. That the Czech Republic so quickly followed in Trump's footsteps demonstrates that they had long wanted to recognize this reality. Czech only recognized Israel's sovereignty over western Jerusalem, but European powers like France, Britain and Germany continue to deny Israel even that much. Many nations remain resolute in their refusal to acknowledge full Jewish sovereignty, even within the 1949 armistice lines.

In this light, the nations' hostility toward Jewish sovereignty in the Holy Land, demonstrated by their refusal to acknowledge any capital city for Israel, let alone Jerusalem, can't be rationally explained. Not surprisingly, Trump himself revealed the reason: The religious status of the city for Judaism, Christianity and Islam is that which sets her apart from any other capital city. This is why the Holy See resents Trump's decision, why Muslim countries resent it and why Europe resents it.

But the irrational sentiments regarding Jerusalem are well masqueraded. Instead of religion, the West speaks in the name of peace. For too long now it has deceived itself that somehow the infamous 1947 Partition Plan that destined Jerusalem to be a separated entity, an international city, is still a good idea. This despite the fact that history has proved beyond any doubt that such a notion produces only war. And Trump was wise enough to address this point as well.

"After more than two decades of waivers, we are no closer to a lasting peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians," he said. "It would be folly to assume that repeating the exact same formula would now produce a different or better result."

"Fools repeat their folly," according to Provers 26:11, and this is exactly what the president was trying to tell the world yesterday.

With all the praise Trump deserves for his historic decision, we would be remiss to ignore that of all the Temple Mount compound, he left only the Western Wall to the Jews. This is sad because if Jerusalem is the heart of Israel, as Trump has now recognized, the Temple is the heart of Jerusalem. Of all the world's leaders, he should know that if Israel is the body, and Jerusalem is its heart, the blocking of its coronary arteries will leave the patient seriously ill. Even more serious, transplanting the heart to a different body, a Palestinian state, as Europe demands, is to sign Israel's death certificate.

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