US Embassy Not Moving to Jerusalem

The Fellowship  |  June 1, 2017

US President Donald Gives A Speech At Israel Museum
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - MAY 23: (ISRAEL OUT) US President Donald Trump (L) and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wave after delivering a speech during a visit to the Israel Museum on May 23, 2017 in Jerusalem, Israel. U.S. President Donald Trump spend his second and final day visited Mahmoud Abbas in Bethlehem, then visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and delivering an address at the Israel Museum, both in Jerusalem, before departing for the Vatican. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)

While many who stand for Israel had hoped that the American embassy in the Jewish state would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, such a relocation will not happen at this time. The Times of Israel’s Eric Cortellessa reports that the embassy move will be delayed for at least six months. Until then, all who stand for Israel can look forward to the day when the United States’ embassy will sit in the biblical and eternal capital of the Jewish people:

Announcing the move, the White House insisted it did not represent a weakening of his support for Israel. “While President Donald J. Trump signed the waiver under the Jerusalem Embassy Act and delayed moving the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, no one should consider this step to be in any way a retreat from the President’s strong support for Israel and for the United States-Israel alliance,” the White House statement said.

The White House said the president still stood by his promise to move the embassy.

“President Trump made this decision to maximize the chances of successfully negotiating a deal between Israel and the Palestinians, fulfilling his solemn obligation to defend America’s national security interests. But, as he has repeatedly stated his intention to move the embassy, the question is not if that move happens, but only when.”

“It’s a question of when, not if,” an official said, adding that Trump “doesn’t think the timing is right, right now.” The official added: “In timing such a move, he will seek to maximize the chances of successfully negotiating a deal between Israel and the Palestinians…”

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