US opens embassy in Jerusalem

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DrMom

Mon, May 14 2018, 2:36 pm

You can watch the entire ceremony here:

dvorak613

Mon, May 14 2018, 4:26 pm

Shehechiyanu, vekiymanu, vehigianu lazman hazeh!

busymom1

Mon, May 14 2018, 4:36 pm

Did anyone else notice Ivanka said United States ON America? Oops

Purple2

Mon, May 14 2018, 5:38 pm

Mazel tov!!

simba

Mon, May 14 2018, 5:59 pm

It's so nice to have a president that is not scared to acknowledge the truth regardless of the price.
Let's daven for peace in the region!

SixOfWands

Mon, May 14 2018, 6:50 pm

simba wrote:

It's so nice to have a president that is not scared to acknowledge the truth regardless of the price.
Let's daven for peace in the region!

I'm pretty scared about the price.

But yes, peace would be lovely.

May

Mon, May 14 2018, 7:22 pm

I'm not very politically inclined and I know this is a really dumb/basic question, but what exactly is the significance of this move?

SixOfWands

Mon, May 14 2018, 7:32 pm

May wrote:

I'm not very politically inclined and I know this is a really dumb/basic question, but what exactly is the significance of this move?

Embassies are generally in the capital of a country. So the Israeli embassy in the US is located in DC. There are other consulates, of course, but just one embassy.

Since Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, the various embassies should be there as well. But they consider Jerusalem to be in dispute, so the embassies are all in Tel Aviv.

In 1995, the US passed The Jerusalem Embassy Act, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital and saying that someday, the embassy would move. But there have been 6-month waivers ever since. Until now.

So the move is largely symbolic, although I'm not discounting the symbolism.

OTOH, it has a lot of people very angry. Turkey has recalled its ambassador from the US. The Palestinians are rioting, and hundreds have been killed. Because the Palestinians want the disposition of Jerusalem to await a final peace negotiation. Or because they want Jerusalem, period. And people say that its the US and Israel abandoning the 2-state solution.

The violence. The backlash against Israel. All scare me. I'm not big on children dying for symbolism.

May

Mon, May 14 2018, 7:43 pm

Thank you SOW! I appreciate the clear explanation!

simba

Mon, May 14 2018, 8:09 pm

SixOfWands wrote:

Regarding the bolded I completely agree but wouldn't you agree that the move is not only Symbolic but hopefully strategic as well?

Deep

Mon, May 14 2018, 8:12 pm

simba wrote:

Regarding the bolded I completely agree but wouldn't you agree that the move is not only Symbolic but hopefully strategic as well?

I've been thinking a lot about this today. I worry that this move will be used to force Israel to reciprocate by making a similarly grand concession at the negotiating table.

Laiya

Mon, May 14 2018, 10:49 pm

According to the Shin Bet, the Hamas-led demonstrations are being funded by Iran. The US embassy move is just an excuse for Iran to mount its war against Israel on another front. If not this, Iran would've found another pretext.

Frumwithallergies

Mon, May 14 2018, 10:54 pm

Even though I am happy for the move, I am terrified of the repercussions.

I daven that Hashem yaazor and that peace should come swiftly, with as little bloodshed as possible.

FranticFrummie

Mon, May 14 2018, 11:33 pm

If you look at the history of Israel (the land, not the state), for thousands of years Jews have been persecuted simply for breathing. Since when does there need to be a "reason" for killilng us?

Fear of repercussions should never hold us back. Does the wolf fear a bunch of sheep? NO.

We should stop being sheep, and start roaring back at the wolves. This is OUR land, and we need to start acting like it, instead of apologizing all the time for simply existing.

grace413

Mon, May 14 2018, 11:35 pm

Laiya wrote:

Exactly.

Mommyg8

Mon, May 14 2018, 11:36 pm

Deep wrote:

I've been thinking a lot about this today. I worry that this move will be used to force Israel to reciprocate by making a similarly grand concession at the negotiating table.

Seriously, do they need an excuse? How many grand concessions has Israel given over the years, and how many have the Arabs given?

etky

Tue, May 15 2018, 12:54 am

Laiya wrote:

The 'charging the fence' riots on the border of the Gaza strip have been ongoing now, on a sporadic basis, for many weeks. It has nothing to do with the embassy specificially, except that Hamas figured it was as good an excuse as any to rile things up.
Today is Nakba Day AND 'erev' Ramadan - more wonderful excuses to riot.
Hamas is unprepared and afraid to start an all-out military confrontation with Israel and it's attack tunnels that it has been building since the last confrontation 4 years ago (with the money that was supposed to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza) have mostly (hopefully) been discovered by the IDF and blown up.
Using its own people as cannon fodder is hardly a new Hamas tactic - and the Iranians are paying for it (I forget how much exactly goes to each person injured or to the family of those who are killed). Hamas doesn't have many other options left and it has to do SOMETHING to distract Gazans from the disaster that their every-day lives have become under its regime.

merpk

Tue, May 15 2018, 5:36 am

etky wrote:

^^^Yeah, all this.

And I am just paranoid enough to be convinced that the price that was extracted was the date chosen. I mean, seriously. It's "Nakba day," immediately following Yom Yerushalayim, and immediately followed by Ramadan. All in one week.

In other words, could Trump have picked a more explosive let's-kick-of-WW3 day to do this?

No.

And the fact that he invited Hagee and that other "Jews are going to hell" pastor to speak at the opening? That's a coincidence??

Nope.

I think this is how Trump got the Evangelicals to back his candidacy altogether. He promised them THIS. "You back me for president, and I'll fast-forward the whole battle-of-Armageddon thing, and even slot you in for a quick speech before the opening pitch."

Really, I think that.

In other words, this was all promised by Trump to the Evangelicals, to get their backing for his candidacy.

And all he promised us (the Jews) was to move the embassy (which Congress had already legislated to do 20 years ago). As long as he got to pick the date. And he couldn't just pick, oh, say, June 17th. Nope. This is what he picked. Because this is the price that was demanded of him.

Except now *we* have to pay it.

Zeleze

Tue, May 15 2018, 6:16 am

I would say it's a great step forward, and 70 years to late, but Hasham should look over us all here in Israel and abroad, as it's a very tense time here in Israel and we need Rachmim

Iymnok

Tue, May 15 2018, 6:57 am

Why did it have to take so long to move? They are just going to the new fancy consulate building that was to big for its job.

But now the consulate is in a more convenient location. If that even helps anyone.

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