By Raphael Ahren American lawmakers on Wednesday discussed the possibility of moving the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, some three weeks before US President Donald Trump will have to decided on whether to postpone the action for another six months. The two-hour discussion took place in the House Oversight Subcommittee for National Security, which…
The tired old argument that moving the US embassy would “inflame the Arab street” has long outlived its use in view of the fact that no matter what the US does the Arab street will always remain inflamed if it appears to favor Israel, or even if it is neutral, a concept that the same Arab street is incapable of understanding. Additionally, rejecting the choice made by the sovereign nation of Israel regarding the location of its own capital is discriminatory and deeply insulting. Did anyone object when Brasil moved its capital to Brasilia, or Australia moved its own to Canberra? No? Why the double standard then, applied only to Israel? Out of 197 sovereign nations in the world besides the US? It is an untenable choice. The US must move its embassay to Jerusalem ASAP. That gesture will create a draft that will allow the rest of the world to follow, notwithstanding a fictional Arab street getting more “inflamed” than it already is anyway.