In 2018 Israel celebrates 70 years since its declaration of independence. On May 14 1948 David Ben-Gurion the head of the Jewish Agency declared the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel" (Eretz-Israel) a day before the expiration of the British Mandate. In a way Israel replicated what the United States did on July 4 1776 when the latter declared independence from Great Britain.
The U.S.-Israel relationship is an important factor in the American governments overall policy in the Middle East. In addition to financial and military aid the United States provides a constant political support to Israel having used its U.N. Security Council veto power in about half of the cases to protect Israel.
Among the U.S. administrations over time the current Trump Administration has offered by far the strongest support for statehood that Israel has ever benefited from. In the light of the fact that Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential elections with several strong nationalist conservative messages (like America First" and Make America Great Again") one may explain the presidents profound understanding for Israels gigantic efforts to preserve its existence and identity against its aggressive neighbors constant threats.
Another factor is the number of members of Jewish origin in the Trump administration (in spite of the anti-Semitism the president was unjustly accused of). One may include some prominent members like Jared Kushner (senior adviser and son-in-law); David Friedman (ambassador to Israel); Jason Greenblatt (special representative for international negotiations the Israeli-Palestinian conflict); Gary Cohn (director of the White House National Economic Council); Steve Mnuchin (secretary of the Treasury); and Stephen Miller Reed Cordish and Avraham Berkowitz (senior advisers and special assistants to the president) to name just a few.
In September 2017 it was announced that the United States would open their first permanent military base in Israel and on December 6 2017 the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and began the process of moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Several American presidents had promised this out of political convenience but only Donald Trump has delivered. The decision was widely criticized by leaders from around the globe as detrimental to the peace process."
On December 18 2017 the United Nations Security Council voted in favor of a draft resolution reversing the presidents decision but the resolution was vetoed by the United States. On December 21 2017 the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly defied U.S. warnings and voted in favor of a resolution calling for the United States to withdraw its recognition of Jerusalem. The resolution passed with 128 member-states voting in favor nine voting against (including the United States and Israel) 35 countries abstaining while other 21 did not participate in the vote.
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley issued a stern warning to the United Nations that the United States will remember" countries that voted for the measure hinting that the U.S. financial support for the U.N. is not guaranteed and that the U.S. should not be expected to support an organization that condemns it.
Jerusalem with its over 800000 residents (of whom two thirds are Jews and one third are Muslims and Christians) is a city the size of Washington DC (excluding the metropolitan area). Also Jerusalem is a partner city of New York President Trumps birthplace.
The city has been sacred to Judaism for 3000 years to Christianity for 2000 years and to Islam for 1400 years. Therefore despite efforts to maintain peaceful religious coexistence the city has been continuously a source of controversy and tensions.
During the year of 2018 which marks the Israels 70th anniversary of existence and even after and taking into account also the Trump administrations new national security strategy in the Middle East there are many reasons for optimism and hope that things will take a turn for the better.
NOTE A version of the article was published previously in AMERICAN THINKER.
Tiberiu Dianu has published several books and a host of articles in law politics and post-communist societies. He currently lives and works in Washington DC and can be followed on MEDIUM.
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In 2018 Israel celebrates 70 years since its declaration of independence. On May 14 1948 David Ben-Gurion the head of the Jewish Agency declared the establishment of a Jewish state in the Land of Israel" (Eretz-Israel) a day before the expiration of the British Mandate. In a way Israel replicated what the United States did on July 4 1776 when the latter declared independence from Great Britain.
The U.S.-Israel relationship is an important factor in the American governments overall policy in the Middle East. In addition to financial and military aid the United States provides a constant political support to Israel having used its U.N. Security Council veto power in about half of the cases to protect Israel.
Among the U.S. administrations over time the current Trump Administration has offered by far the strongest support for statehood that Israel has ever benefited from. In the light of the fact that Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential elections with several strong nationalist conservative messages (like America First" and Make America Great Again") one may explain the presidents profound understanding for Israels gigantic efforts to preserve its existence and identity against its aggressive neighbors constant threats.
Another factor is the number of members of Jewish origin in the Trump administration (in spite of the anti-Semitism the president was unjustly accused of). One may include some prominent members like Jared Kushner (senior adviser and son-in-law); David Friedman (ambassador to Israel); Jason Greenblatt (special representative for international negotiations the Israeli-Palestinian conflict); Gary Cohn (director of the White House National Economic Council); Steve Mnuchin (secretary of the Treasury); and Stephen Miller Reed Cordish and Avraham Berkowitz (senior advisers and special assistants to the president) to name just a few.
In September 2017 it was announced that the United States would open their first permanent military base in Israel and on December 6 2017 the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and began the process of moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Several American presidents had promised this out of political convenience but only Donald Trump has delivered. The decision was widely criticized by leaders from around the globe as detrimental to the peace process."
On December 18 2017 the United Nations Security Council voted in favor of a draft resolution reversing the presidents decision but the resolution was vetoed by the United States. On December 21 2017 the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly defied U.S. warnings and voted in favor of a resolution calling for the United States to withdraw its recognition of Jerusalem. The resolution passed with 128 member-states voting in favor nine voting against (including the United States and Israel) 35 countries abstaining while other 21 did not participate in the vote.
U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley issued a stern warning to the United Nations that the United States will remember" countries that voted for the measure hinting that the U.S. financial support for the U.N. is not guaranteed and that the U.S. should not be expected to support an organization that condemns it.
Jerusalem with its over 800000 residents (of whom two thirds are Jews and one third are Muslims and Christians) is a city the size of Washington DC (excluding the metropolitan area). Also Jerusalem is a partner city of New York President Trumps birthplace.
The city has been sacred to Judaism for 3000 years to Christianity for 2000 years and to Islam for 1400 years. Therefore despite efforts to maintain peaceful religious coexistence the city has been continuously a source of controversy and tensions.
During the year of 2018 which marks the Israels 70th anniversary of existence and even after and taking into account also the Trump administrations new national security strategy in the Middle East there are many reasons for optimism and hope that things will take a turn for the better.
NOTE A version of the article was published previously in AMERICAN THINKER.
Tiberiu Dianu has published several books and a host of articles in law politics and post-communist societies. He currently lives and works in Washington DC and can be followed on MEDIUM.
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