Obama says no to Jerusalem

Last Thursday, President Obama followed in his predecessors footsteps and  informed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton that he intends to delay moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. He was given the power to delay the moving of the embassy to Jerusalem by the U.S. Congress. In 1995, the U.S. Congress unanimously passed a law recognizing Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel and required that the U.S. Embassy be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. However, in that same law which required that the U.S. Embassy be moved to Jerusalem, Congress gave the President the legal authority to delay the moving of the Embassy every 6 months on national security grounds. Since 1995, every U.S. President has decided to postpone the moving of the embassy to Jerusalem until negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians are resolved.

I would like to know the answer to the following question. Why create a law which essentially prevents the moving of the Embassy  to Jerusalem? Either move it or do not move it. If the goal of the U.S. Congress is to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, giving the President the power to delay the moving of the Embassy defeats the purpose of the legislation. As it stands now, every President regardless of whether they are Democrat or Republican will use the 6 month loophole to delay the moving of the Embassy indefinitely.

I call on the U.S. Congress to enact an amendment which would eliminate the 6 month loophole. It is utterly preposterous that practically every U.S. Embassy is in the capital of the host country and Israel, which is one of the U.S.'s staunchest allies, is disrespected by having the U.S. Embassy in  Tel Aviv which is not Israel's capital city.  The U.S. has no qualms about putting their Embassy in Damascus, the capital of Syria or in Riyadh or in Beirut. As far as I know, the U.S. Embassies are located in every capital city in the Arab world. Why should Israel, the country which is constant contact with the U.S regarding defense matters, be given the cold shoulder by not having the U.S. Embassy in their capital city as is the case in the Arab world?

Could you imagine if Israel decided to put their Embassy in Annapolis, MD instead of Washington DC because the State of Israel didn't recognize Washington DC as the undivided capital of the U.S? There would undoubtedly be an uproar in Washington and rightfully so. Why should Israel be any less perturbed?

If you agree with me on this issue, call your Senator or Congressman and tell them that you want the U.S. Embassy to be moved to Jerusalem.  The time has come for the international community to formally recognize Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the State of Israel.

Obama says no to Jerusalem