Trump's Jerusalem "decision "

What a "historic" week for the Trump administration . 

While embedded in the " Russia investigation ", Donald Trump pulled another newsworthy distraction . Donald Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a move that has led to deadly clashes across the occupied Palestinian territories. Eight countries called for the emergency meeting at the UN headquarters in New York on Friday, as Palestinians protested across the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip against the US president's decision throughout the day.Several countries resoundingly condemned the unilateral move by the US to recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. While many people who have some biblical motivations see it as "God's instrument " in action . (1)>>OR rooted in biblical prophecy. There is a word of caution . It all felt carefully staged to send a strong message to Christian evangelical voters and their leaders that this is their victory and Trump is their man.Its probably one bad decision ,but it reveals who maybe behind Trump's election  win , here in the United States . The decision also holds important political implications for Vice President Mike Pence, the only administration official in camera view as Trump delivered his announcement that the United States would not only recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, but would begin steps toward moving the U.S. Embassy there from Tel Aviv. I honestly this is what I REALLY think that it The Israeli government, (1.2)>> Bibi  Netanyahu  is silly not to understand Trumps sneaky plan of starting a war with the

Palestinians. It will set off the angry Palestinians. Another intifada.    Simple declare Jerusalem the capital, it starts up terrorism, it gives Israel the right to bomb Gaza. Most people appreciate that Jerusalem is historically and culturally significant in Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Fewer people are aware of the fact the that the success of a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine hinges on the viability of East Jerusalem becoming the capital of a future Palestinian state. Trump's Jerusalem designation recklessly reverses seven years of sound U.S. policy.  Trump's proclamation sabotages the two-state solution, pulls the plug on the mid-east peace process and needlessly incites a new intifada.   Violence has already broken out in the West Bank and will only grow.

Jerusalem a holy city rooted in war .

Jerusalem is such a divided
city,  that to claim it now
is no longer possible .

I have say this first of all . I understand the Israeli zeal for Jerusalem . It for a "time" granted 2700 years ago was the religious center for the Kingdom of Judah . It was the holy city for the Jewish tradition right up to (2)>>Bar Kokhba revolt in 132 AD – 135 AD. For nearly 2000 years Jerusalem fell to different conquerors . The Romans , the Byzantines , the Arabs in the 6th Century AD, the Crusaders . Most of the city and its history had been in Muslim hands up until the latter part of the last century . On the Temple Mount where once stood  King Herod's and , yes the legendary Temple of Solomon stood , built up from the remains of a old Roman Christian Church stands the center of the controversy  the  Al Aqsa Mosque . Both Israelis and Palestinians claim the city as their political capital and as a sacred religious site. Israel controls the entirety of the city. Any peace deal would need to resolve that.The city’s status has been disputed, at least officially, since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Before that, the United Nations had designated Jerusalem as a special international zone. During the war, Israel seized the city’s western half. It seized the eastern half during the (2.1)>>next Arab-Israeli war, in 1967. Jerusalem is a city ensconced in geopolitics and divisiveness, both within the Jewish community itself and certainly in the surrounding Arab nations, many of which are against the Jewish people. Israel's ancient capital has been conquered more than any other city in history.  it's mentioned more than 640 times in the Old Testament and not once by name in the Quran .From 638 CE until 1917 (with the exception of the Crusader occupation from 1099 to 1187), Jerusalem was controlled by various Islamic dynasties based in Syria, Egypt and Turkey. While Jerusalem remained a city of pilgrimage, none of these Islamic dynasties made Jerusalem their capital. The only other people in the last 3,000 years to have Jerusalem as a capital are the Crusaders who founded the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem from 1099-1187.For most of this 1,300-year period, despite its status as the third holiest Islamic city, Jerusalem remained a backwater, run-down town under Islamic control. Exceptions were during both the Umayyid period (7th to mid-8th century) and the Mamluk period (mid-13th to early-16th century), when major Islamic building projects were carried out in the city. Israel routinely describes the city, with its Jewish, Muslim and Christian holy places, as its “united and eternal” capital. But its history is inextricably bound up with the bigger picture of the conflict. Seventy years ago, at the violent end of British rule, when the UN voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab states, Jerusalem was defined as a separate entity under international supervision.

Whats NEXT?

Trump’s announcement can also be seen as a symbol of favoritism from the purported mediator, a coat of many colors to provide cover to Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel’s Prime Minister is besieged by investigations, rising opposition forces, and international isolation. The decision by Trump has been met with worldwide condemnation.  Not only do international U.S. allies oppose the move, so did U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis, knowing Americans are now an even bigger target. Trump has completely undercut the few allies we have in the middle east, like the King of Jordan.   How can any Arab nation trust the Trump Administration to be an honest broker in mide-east peace negotiations or any other negotiations? If the embassy moves , I can only foresee trouble . Both Gazans and Israelis are concerned that the situation is eerily similar to that of the last conflict, Operation Protective Edge in 2014, and one small miscalculation will lead to another deadly war.   Tania Shifer, a resident in Sderot, told The Jerusalem Post that hearing sirens on an almost daily basis after years of calm has unnerved her and has traumatized her four year old sister.The Trump administration’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the U.S. Embassy, has also a bizarre twist ,  there has provoked widespread opposition among Christians across the Middle East. When Vice President Pence arrives next week on a trip touted as a chance to check on the region’s persecuted Christians, he will be facing an awkward backlash.  In the city, the writing is on the wall: “Mr PENCE you are not welcome,” someone has scrawled in red spray paint on the 26-foot-high concrete Israeli security barrier that separates Bethlehem from Jerusalem.On Sunday, demonstrators staged a sit-in outside the Church of the Nativity, built on the site thought to be the birthplace of Jesus. “We will not receive Mr. Pence here,” said Saleh Bandak, a Bethlehem-born Christian politician who attended Sunday’s protest. Interstingly enough just prior to the Trump announcement about Jerusalem . American Troops set up a military base in Israel . Curiously was this base set up in advance for the embassy move ? The Next question is on which side of Jerusalem will the embassy exist ? A Divided city , the Jewish sector , the  Christian , or Muslim ? During the Reagan administration, a piece of West Jerusalem was leased to the American government and may become the new location of the US embassy to Israel. However, several Palestinian families say the land in West Jerusalem is theirs. Undoubtedly, Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital will further isolate the US from the rest of the world. Given the administration's rejection of Palestinian claims to East Jerusalem, in violation of international law which recognises East Jerusalem as belonging to the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Washington has signalled its abandonment of a two-state solution more than ever. The American president refrained from explicitly stating that the two-state solution is the only path to a peace agreement, and said the U.S. supports such a solution only if it agreed upon by both sides.Trump also announced that he has instructed the relevant teams to begin planning the relocation of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, yet did not state when such a move would take place. The move is risky as a foreign policy  move .

NOTES AND COMMENTS:

(1)>>OR rooted in biblical prophecy. There is a word of caution . Anyone wondering what the true impetus was behind U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision on Wednesday to unilaterally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital needed only to view the image of the president when he made the formal announcement.The announcement also took place just before Pence is set to visit Israel for three days, from December 17-19. This guarantees enhanced media coverage for the Pence trip, where he will certainly be greeted as a conquering hero – pleasing evangelicals even more.While much has been made of the influence of Jewish megadonor Sheldon Adelson in Trump’s move, and his Jewish son-in-law Jared Kushner’s words of support – flouting the conventional wisdom that he would be dismayed that it would derail his 11-month attempt to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks – the approbation from Israel and pro-Trump American Jews seems to be a happy bonus to the main objective.  Trump’s bigotry almost certainly factors into his decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. A man who has made Islamophobic comments, and clearly sees Arabs and Muslims as the enemy, will not be motivated to act in the interests of Palestinians. Added to this, his son-in-law cum Middle East adviser, Jared Kushner, acted as co-director of the Charles and Seryl Kushner Foundation from 2006 and 2015, which donated at least $38,000 to the construction of a Jewish seminary in the settlement of Bet El and another $20,000 to projects in other settlements.Kushner has previously described the Israel-Palestine conflict as being similar to a “real estate issue”. Reports suggest he’s in the midst of developing is own peace process alongside Saudi Arabia for the region. It’s obvious that Palestinians have no friends in the Trump administration – any plan is almost certain to do more harm than good.  (1.2)>> Bibi  Netanyahu. Speaking after the visit of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Brussels, the EU’s foreign policy chief, Frederica Mogherini made an astonishing declaration of ignorance. Again. “We always say that the Two State Solution is the only realistic one,” she said. “I have not heard by anyone or from anyone, not only in the last weeks but in the last decades any other idea than two States to preserve Israeli security. The Palestinians need to have their own country under their own authority.”  If we really want to BELIEVE Netanyahu ,Urging the EU to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Mr Netanyahu said: “While I respect Europe, I am not prepared to accept a double standard from it.”  It is a pity the Israeli Prime Minister does not make more frequent visits to point out blatant hypocrisy. The Israelis don't want a two state solution  , since the Israel envisioned by Zionists consists of boarders from the "river of Egypt - to the Euphrates " .  (2)>>Bar Kokhba revolt in....  The Bar Kokhba revolt was a major turning point in Jewish history. It was the final crisis that scattered the people of Israel into a diaspora that would last nearly 2,000 years. Yes, the famous destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, which left the Second Temple in ruins, also sent people fleeing to the diaspora, but the brief attempt to throw off Roman rule in 130 CE was the last straw. Enormous numbers of Jews, both soldiers and civilians, were slaughtered. Many of the survivors were sold into slavery. Others fled a nation that had been decimated by war. It was a loss that completely severed a people from its roots. (2.1)>>next Arab-Israeli war, in 1967.The six days of the 1967 war were the most important — triumphant, even — in modern Israeli history. But after 50 years, Israel is still struggling with them.Jews took control of Jerusalem for the first time in two millenniums. Israel went from fully fearing for its survival to controlling more land than it had dreamed of.But the accidental war and stunning victory also made Israelis occupiers. For with that land — the urban villages of East Jerusalem, the sprawling hills and metropolises of the West Bank, the concrete density of the Gaza Strip — came people: Palestinians now numbering more than 4.5 million. The Jewish loss of Jerusalem . It is worth noting that the inaugural PLO Covenant of 1964 does not mention Jerusalem. Only after the city fell back to Jewish control did the updated PLO Covenant of 1968 mention Jerusalem by name.One might have expected that the Israelis would immediately expel the Muslims and re-establish control of the single holiest Jewish site. But in an act of what can only be described as unprecedented tolerance, Israel handed over control of the site to the Wakf, the Muslim Religious Trust. Today, although Israel technically claims sovereignty over the site, the defacto reality since 1967 has been that the Muslims have control over the site, to the point where Jews are forbidden to pray on the Temple Mount (but permitted to visit).