MEDIA RELEASES

AIJAC calls opening of US Embassy in Jerusalem “a bold act of American leadership which corrects a gross historical injustice”

May 15, 2018

AIJAC calls opening of US Embassy in Jerusalem "a bold act of American leadership which corrects a gross historical injustice"

Media Release

The move of the US Embassy to Jerusalem yesterday was a bold act of American leadership which corrected a gross historical injustice which left Israel as the only nation in the world effectively disallowed from choosing its own capital. It overturns a strange rejection of empirical reality that has long persisted even though Jerusalem has been the Jewish state’s capital since 1950, and the Knesset and other key buildings were built in the western part of the city that is undisputed.

At a time when there is a campaign underway by the Palestinians and their supporters to re-write history and deny all Jewish links to the city in resolutions of both UNESCO and the UN General Assembly, it is both common sense and basic decency for states to recognise that Jerusalem simply is and has been Israel’s capital, and act accordingly.

No serious peace plan has ever been proposed which would see Jerusalem cease to be Israel’s capital in future, and the argument that delaying recognition helped encourage Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations simply has not worked in practice. To the contrary, there is in fact every reason to hope that moving the Embassy will help provide a circuit-breaker to Palestinian expectations that time is on their side, which in turn could help jump-start a return to negotiations.

Moreover, as US President Trump made clear in announcing the move in December, there is nothing in the Embassy move that prevents a Palestinian state having a capital in east Jerusalem as part of a future negotiated two-state peace.

As other nations – from Russia, the Czech republic and Vanuatu, to Guatemala, Honduras and Paraguay – follow the US example in recognising Israel’s long-standing capital, all other governments of good will, including Australia’s, should be asking themselves what is genuinely achieved by clinging to an outdated and unjust refusal to acknowledge the basic reality that Jerusalem has long been Israel’s capital and always will be.

Mr. Mark Leibler AC, National Chairman
Dr. Colin Rubenstein AM, Executive Director

For additional information, contact AIJAC on (03)-9681-6660.

Tags:

RELATED ARTICLES


UN General Assembly chamber (Photo: Steve Estvanik, Shutterstock)

Australia’s votes at UN “starkly at odds with its own policy”

Dec 12, 2024 | Media Releases
Foreign Minister Penny Wong (screenshot)

AIJAC “deeply disappointed” with “moral relativism and factual confusion” in speech from Foreign Minister

Dec 10, 2024 | Featured, Media Releases
Josh Frydenberg

Senator Watt’s comments “disappointing and irresponsible”

Dec 9, 2024 | Media Releases
Screenshot

AIJAC horrified by arson attack on Melbourne synagogue

Dec 6, 2024 | Featured, Media Releases
Image: Lev Radin/ Shutterstock

AIJAC deeply disappointed by Australian vote change on “woefully one-sided” UN Resolution

Dec 4, 2024 | Featured, Media Releases
Senator Simon Birmingham (Image: Facebook)

AIJAC congratulates Senator Simon Birmingham

Nov 29, 2024 | Featured, Media Releases

RECENT POSTS

Damaged section of Kamal Adwan Hospital (image: World Health Organisation)

The latest IDF raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital debunks absurd UN report

Image: Shutterstock

“The child is the father of the man”: How the birth of my grandson renewed my hope for a gentler year

Screenshot 2024 12 20 At 12.44.43 PM

AIJAC speaks out against hate… Will you join us?

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (left), the late Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and the late commander of the IRGC's Qods Force Qassem Soleimani

The Axis of Resistance is not dead yet

Iranian women being ushered into a van by "Morality police" (Image: X)

Iranian human rights have significantly worsened since the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests

Damaged section of Kamal Adwan Hospital (image: World Health Organisation)

The latest IDF raid on the Kamal Adwan Hospital debunks absurd UN report

Image: Shutterstock

“The child is the father of the man”: How the birth of my grandson renewed my hope for a gentler year

Screenshot 2024 12 20 At 12.44.43 PM

AIJAC speaks out against hate… Will you join us?

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (left), the late Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and the late commander of the IRGC's Qods Force Qassem Soleimani

The Axis of Resistance is not dead yet

Iranian women being ushered into a van by "Morality police" (Image: X)

Iranian human rights have significantly worsened since the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests

SORT BY TOPICS