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| Menachem and Ari Zivotofsky (WJC) |
Menachem Zivotofsky was disappointed. So was his father, Ari. In 2015 the Supreme Court struck down a law passed by Congress in 2002 that would have allowed him to list Israel as place of birth on his passport.
Why should that be a problem for someone born in Jerusalem? One would think that there is no city more relevant to Israel than Jerusalem. It was Israel’s capital in ancient times as recorded in the bible. It is Jerusalem’s capital now. And has been since it very inception in 1948.This is where its legislative body, the Knesset, is located.
This has been the position of every Prime Minister since day one. As recently as last week former Prime Minister Ehud Barak (of Oslo fame) reiterated that position during an interview on PBS adding that he hoped the US embassy would soon be moved. The problem is that – as absurd as it might be - the US has had a standing policy of not considering that city part of the State of Israel.
The absurdity of that was not lost on every mainstream candidate for President for decades. They all pledged to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Israel. Nor was it lost on congress when in 1995 they overwhelmingly passed legislation that would do it.
That this has not taken place yet is because all Presidents (who even though as candidates supported it) opposed it once in office. They considered it an infringement of the Executive Branch’s authority over setting foreign policy. A view upheld by the Supreme Court when it was challenged by Ari Zivotofsky who desired his son Menachem to have Israel listed as his place of birth.
The current President who as a candidate also promised to move the embassy to Jerusalem has followed his predecessors and signed legislation delaying it - to absolutely no one’s surprise. Why did all these Presidents promise one thing and then do a 180 once in office?
The conventional wisdom is that the State Department quickly convinced them that following through on those promises would cause a lot of bloodshed via a violent reaction by Palestinians who claimed Jerusalem as their own. It appears that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had convinced his boss that leaving things as they are was the wiser decision. So President Trump did what his predecessors did and delayed implementing it.
Well, it seems like all that is about to change. News out of the White House is that the President is about to make good on his campaign promise after all and declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel. (And - I suppose - move the US embassy there in relatively short order).
Apparently it stuck in his craw. The President really wanted to make good on that promise and it appears he is about to do so. Starting with the firing of his Secretary of State and replacing him with CIA director Mike Pompeo.
This might make a lot of people happy. I admit to feeling good about that too. Just like any other country, Israel should should have the right to choose which ever city it wants to be its capital. If I am not mistaken Israel is the only country where this is not the case. No other major country has their embassy in Jerusalem either. Shouldn’t this great nation lead the way and put its embassy in Israel’s capital – just as it and all other countries do with their embassies all over the world?
Perhaps. But I also admit to being concerned about the consequences. Palestinians have already promised a new Intifada. That means more bloodshed. Who knows how many Jews will be murdered as a result of this. Hopefully none will. But I fear that history has taught us that it doesn’t take much for Palestinians to kill Jews. Sure, they do it anyway. We saw an instance of that recently. There is little doubt in my mind that this will spur a violent reaction where Jews will be killed that would otherwise have lived if not for this.
As much as I believe in the rectitude of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, I have to wonder whether that will give Israel any tangible benefit. What will Israel gain except for a moral victory?
I know there are a lot of people that will cheer if and when this happens. Including Israel’s left (as noted above with Ehud Barak). Even me. That will be the logic of my heart. But the logic of my mind feels a bit differently. If even one Jew dies because of this, will it be worth it? I’m not so sure.