US Consulate, Jerusalem
Could President-elect Trump be the leader who finally moves the American Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem? He promised during his campaign to implement the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, which calls for Jerusalem to be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel and for the Embassy to be established in that city.
Unlike predecessors who made similar promises right up to Election Day only to abandon those promises once in office, Mr. Trump has continued to stand by his word. Now the question is how best to keep that promise while the new president still enjoys the ever-shorter honeymoon period of a new administration.
If Mr. Trump tasks the State Department with building a new embassy brick by brick, the forces that convinced his predecessors to ignore the Jerusalem Embassy Act will conspire to make certain that not a single brick is ever laid. However, the President-elect has another option that would fulfill his campaign promise on his first day in office – and be his most miraculous Trump “construction” project ever.
For it turns out that America already has a beautiful, historic diplomatic mission situated in the western part of Jerusalem, a short walk from Jaffa Gate. It is on land that is clearly on Israel’s side of the Green Line. The building currently houses the political offices of the Jerusalem Consulate General and the office of the Consul General.
Our diplomatic mission in Jerusalem dates back to 1844 and the administration of President Tyler. Yet the American Consul General and his mission have no official relationship with the State of Israel. They focus virtually all of their attention on the Palestinian Arab population of East Jerusalem, Gaza, and the West Bank.
The Jerusalem Consul General is our only consul who does not present diplomatic credentials to the sovereign power in which his consulate is situated. Not only is he unaccredited to the State of Israel, but he has no official connection to the American ambassador to Israel. Instead, he reports directly to the Department of State in Washington.
The presence of the Consulate General causes no small amount of confusion and consternation among the Israelis, including many American citizens. They see the American flag flying proudly over an American Government installation in the heart of Jerusalem that is unwelcoming to Jerusalem’s Jewish citizens, even as the State Department refuses to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
With a single Executive Order, President Trump can succeed where all of his predecessors failed, and at scant cost to the taxpayer. All he needs to do to fulfill the long-thwarted intent of Congress and implement the Jerusalem Embassy Act is to hang a “United States Embassy” sign on the existing building, give our ambassador to Israel an office there, and bring the Consul General under the ambassador’s authority.
The large embassy in Tel Aviv could continue to function, just as America maintains parallel diplomatic missions in Pretoria and Cape Town in order to be connected to South Africa’s administrative and legislative capitals. This Executive Order would make an unmistakable statement to Israel and the world that America strongly supports Israel’s right to exist as the nation state of the Jewish people with Jerusalem as its capital.
Plus, I believe we would see a surprise — a prompt and positive impact on efforts to resolve Israel’s conflict with the Palestinian Arabs. Israel once again would be confident of the support of its most important ally (confidence that was shaken during the Obama administration), and would be more willing to accommodate the other side.
Palestinian leaders finally would be disabused of the notion that the Jewish presence in Jerusalem (and all of Israel) is only temporary. They would recognize the need to negotiate a final resolution of the dispute with their permanent neighbor. It’s not as if the opposite strategy has worked.
Building a full-fledged embassy building anywhere in the world is an expensive and time consuming process. Such a project would have no chance of completion during President Trump’s first term in office. Implementing the Jerusalem Embassy Act without lifting a shovel would be a uniquely “Trumpian” solution to a long-festering problem.
Designating the Jerusalem Consulate General as the American Embassy to Israel and relocating our ambassador, thereby recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s rightful capital, is a strategy made to order for President Trump. He can keep his campaign pledge, honor the intent of Congress, and right an historical wrong, all without charging the taxpayer for a single brick.
Mr. Cohen’s 24 years of service with the American State Department included two tours in Israel, where he is now a fellow at Bar-Ilan University’s Center for International Communication.
Leading Leftist A B Yehoshua: Annex Area C
http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=71895
@ Birdalone:Confirmations take only 51 votes in the Senate now except for the Supreme Court. So if all the GOP Senators vote for confirmation Friedman will become the Ambassador. My guess is that actually a few Democrats will vote for him also. He should get confirmed.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-taps-adviser-david-friedman-to-be-us-ambassador-to-israel/
Trump has entered the Yamit Zone. This is a Zone were he decides he will via the internet take pot shot after pot shot at you. That puts Trump in a long line of good people.
No reason to defend Trump because facts usually never have anything to do with the attacks. Just look Huckabee was said to be dumped by Trump per Yamit. Yet Hucabee himself has said he turned down a cabinet position because of his campaign debt. He makes more money out of government. When he worked for Fox News he was making 2 million dollars per year.
@ Birdalone:
Looks like Trump has dumped several loyalists and strong advocates for some picks that seem no better than those he has so far ignored… Newt, Huckabee, Palin and a few others whose names escape me…. One might think that a guy who demands loyalty would also be loyal to those who went to the wall for him and in some cases paid a price for supporting him.
@ Birdalone:
Which of Trump’s nominations do you think the democrats will dig heels in opposition???
Schumer is a dirty JINO POS…..
@ yamit82:
The consulate at David Flusser St 14, Jerusalem, 9378322 must be the one you refer to, which still leaves the smaller building pictured in this post at 18 Gershon Agron St as what??
Passover falls on days 79&80 of DJT’s first 100 days. “Next year in Jerusalem, at 18 Gershon Agron St”
Friedman’s ambassador confirmation might be Schumer’s greatest ‘challenge’. Will the Dems dig in on the ‘sanctity’ of the 2-state solution, using the confirmation hearing as a referendum on Oslo Accords?
watsa46 Said:
Whatever his feelings and beliefs he is still the flunky of the president and here I am not very comfortable with his boss.
@ Birdalone:
The American consulate was always housed in the American Embassy in Tel Aviv. Then a few years ago they moved all of consular services to a very Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem. Staffed mostly with Arabs and servicing non American Arabs in the region. Many Jews are not comfortable traveling there but that’s one of the ways the Americans are trying to stick it to Israel and Americans living here with dual citizenship. They are at best correct but sometimes not very nice. The English level of their Arab employees is abominable. Like: “take your nose out from your fingers”
@ Bear Klein:
Bull you are the ultimate apologist for those you believe are aligned to your ideological world view….
Trump could symbolically put a sign on the American Consulate building in EAST Jerusalem… Costs the small cost of a sign and some admin adjustments…. It would put a finger in the eye of Jew hating Arabists in State Dept and put them all on notice of changes to come.
Trump does not yet have his cabinet picks finished, the electors have not yet voted, Trump has not been sworn in or moved into the White House.
He has appointed an Ambassador David Friedman who is a true Zionist and friend of Israel, who plans on doing his job from the embassy in Jerusalem. His people state they intend to this. I want to believe them and certainly will give them time to plan how they want to accomplish this.
I know having moved back and forth great distances you do not actually finish your moving plans in a couple of weeks always and certainly unpacking is not always quick. So those saying promises are already broken should take a breadth and tell themselves savlanoot (patience)!
Didn’t take him long to break a promise to the Jews I suspect many more broken promises to follow….
Trump team: Too early for US embassy move to Jerusalem
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4894105,00.html
David Friedman US ambassador to Jerusalem!
@ Birdalone:
We will be in Jerusalem next week again. We meet in Jerusalem with our group about every two months but lately far more frequently. First stop? Kotel to pray.
Then observe the latest abominations by the politzei there. The House of the Lord haKadosh is vital to me as a Levi. Generally we also travel to the Meaharat HaMachpelah to read Tehilim and visit our ancestors.
Our first daughter Leah, M Sc Nursing and son in law Shimon and their family of five of our grandchildren just moved to their new home, a huge house in one of the villages in the Shomron so we will all go to them form lunch.
US Embassy and possible Ambassador.
News circulated that an advance team responding to the newly elected President is here or was here in Jerusalem recently mapping locations for the Embassy. The old US Embassy will turn into a Consulate General as we understand the process that may take place. Lets things develop before we jump.
As to the new Ambassador being “right of Netanyahu”. Great news. A comparison… not connected to the new Ambassador. MK Zahava Gal On may be tagged as being to the far right of Netanyahu. But the truth is that Netanyahu is neither right or left. Is a Romulan cloaking devise left over also affected with the shape changer syndrome.
As you can imagine we do not look into the local MSM to ferret out information. This time we will travel also to Amona to get a close look at things there. If netanyahu’s black attired troops would have not by then razed another JEWISH VILLAGE to satisfy his “salami slices disengagement” plan.
Then we may or may not caucus with four Knesset sources of ours.
Are there two Jerusalem Consulate General buildings? The one pictured here is 18 Gershon Agron St – and would be difficult to secure.
But, Google maps shows a much bigger complex at David Flusser St 14, Jerusalem, 9378322 when I searched for ‘Jerusalem Consulate General’. That complex is shown divided by the “1949 Armistice Agreement Line”
The official website offers Visas, and services to Americans, but the events are all about Palestinians.
David Friedman, DJT’s nomination for ambassador to Israel was described by Fox News as “to the right of Netanyahu”
The idea of the writer sounds good for simplicity to get started and meet Trumps promise which be good for Israel the firm acknowledgement that Jerusalem is Israels capital.
I wonder who in the Israeli leadership would sabotage that already in motion plan by President Elect Trump? Hmmm
I wonder.