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“Right now I’m thinking about what’s going on and the love that’s all over Israel and all about Jerusalem,” Trump said in the White House East Room. The president was flanked by his daughter Ivanka, who converted to Judaism when she married her husband, Jared Kushner, and their three children.
The president broke with decades of U.S. policy with the Jerusalem announcement, putting the United States at odds with most other countries. The European Union, Germany, Britain, France, the Pope and key Arab allies have denounced the move. But inside the White House Thursday, Trump got only applause, cheers and thanks from the crowd, which included Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Holocaust survivor Louise Lawrence-Israels and Orthodox Rabbi Meir Soloveichik.
Israels spoke of standing up to hate. And Soloveichik recited a traditional prayer that he said has additional meaning this year.
“For the first time since the founding of the state of Israel, an American president has courageously declared what we have always proclaimed, which is that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel,” Soloveichik said.
Trump struggled with the pronunciation of Soloveichik’s name. “He’s so happy with yesterday, that he doesn’t care if I get it exact,” the president said.
He also remarked of the holiday, “I think this one will go down as especially special.”
The Palestinians equally lay claim to Jerusalem and want the eastern part of the city as capital of a future state. In response to Trump’s announcement, thousands of Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli forces in east Jerusalem and the West Bank and demonstrators in the Gaza Strip burned U.S. flags and pictures of Trump.
The Old City in east Jerusalem is home to sites holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims, and its status is one of the most explosive issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Until Trump’s decision, the U.S. — along with most other countries — has maintained its embassy in Tel Aviv, saying the status of Jerusalem should be resolved between the sides in negotiations.
Expert chess players know that
ReplyDeleteit is not enough to make good moves;
each move must be made at the correct time,
or it is not really a good move.
Maybe I am wrong about this, but I view USA President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital as a good move, that was made at a bad time.
[1] I say “bad time” because in recent years, Israel made significant progress in trade relations with its Arab neighbors. Donald Trump’s sudden move severely endangers this progress.
[2] I say “bad time” because in recent years, hundreds of Arab Muslims made significant progress in viewing Israel and Jews as decent people, not as monsters. Donald Trump’s sudden move severely endangers this progress.
[3] Another reason why I say “bad time” is because the USA acted alone in its recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Ideally, the USA should have recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital as part of a coalition of a dozen nations that all recognized Jerusalem as Israel's capital, all dozen nations at the same time.
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Rambam Rejected Childless Messiah:
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/08/rambam-rejected-childless-messiah-by-mr.html
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Since the Reform Jews closely ally themselves with anti-Israel entities like: the J Street organization, the New Israel Fund, the anti-Israel boycott movement (BDS), and the anti-Israel political Far-Left, it is appropriate to read [and publicize] these short blog articles that expose the truth about the Reform Judaism movement:
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Rambam vs. Reform Judaism:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/11/rambam-vs-reform-judaism.html
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How a Reform Rabbi Became Orthodox (true story):
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/07/how-did-reform-rabbi-become-orthodox-jew.html
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Reform Judaism vs. Real Judaism:
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/05/guest-post-real-judaism.html
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Sephardic Jews REJECT Reform Judaism:
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/07/sephardim-reject-reform.html
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/03/greek-jews-syrian-jews.html
https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/08/guest-post-persian-rabbis-decree.html
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How Reform Jews CHEATED on the Pew survey:
http://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2016/06/reform-jews-cheated-pew-survey.html
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Last but not least, the Reform Jews strongly opposed efforts to save European Jews from the Holocaust during World War II.
Those rescue efforts were led by Orthodox Jews, who the Reform Jews considered to be behind-the-times and obsolete and an embarrassment.
The Reform Jews got what they wanted:
the rescue efforts failed.