Embassy Pledge
Jewish groups push Bush
to keep his electioneering promise.
MATTHEW E. BERGER
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Washington
ust a week into President
George W. Bush's "honey-
moon" period, Jewish groups
are questioning when he will
make good on his campaign promise
to move the U.S. embassy in Israel
from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Bush received international atten-
tion during the presidential campaign
when he told a conference of the
American Israel Public Affairs
Committee that one of the first acts of
his presidency would be to move the
embassy, as mandated by Congress.
"As soon as I take office, I will begin
the process of moving the United
States ambassador to the city Israel has
chosen as its capital," Bush said in the
speech. Campaign officials later clari-
fied that the embassy, not just the
ambassador, would be moved.
But that speech came last May,
before the Palestinians erupted in anti-
Israel violence last fall that has threat-
ened to destroy the peace process.
Now, in a much different climate,
Bush is being asked to make good on
his promise.
Israel's conquest of eastern Jerusalem
in 1967 is not recognized internation-
ally, and most countries that have
diplomatic relations with Israel keep
their embassies in the Tel Aviv area.
Only Costa Rica and El Salvador have
their embassies in Jerusalem.
A nearly unanimous Congress
passed a law in 1995 mandating that
the United States move its embassy to
Jerusalem as well. However, President
Clinton repeatedly took advantage of
an escape clause to avoid moving the
embassy, citing national security rea-
sons and a desire not to disrupt the
ongoing peace talks.
White House spokesman Ari
Fleischer said last week that Bush has
started looking into moving the
embassy, but no one at the White
House has said how long the process
will take.
Waiting For Team
Some Jewish leaders have become
quite adamant that Bush must be held
to his promise. The National Jewish
Democratic Council started an
"Embassy Watch" soon after Bush
took office.
The Zionist Organization of
America will urge Bush to follow
through on his campaign promise and
seek support from Republican law-
makers, National President Morton
Klein said. "This is an opportunity to
send a strong message" to Palestinian
Authority President Yasser Arafat that
the U.S. supports Israel, Klein said.
AIPAC Executive Director Howard
Kohr said the issue "still is important
to the community," but predicted that
Bush would want to reassess the situa-
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tion after Israel's Feb. 6 election for
prime minister.
"Whatever happens in this arena
needs to be done in consultation with
the current government of Israel,"
Kohr said. "That conversation hasn't
even started yet because we don't
know exactly what the government in
Israel will be."
Marshall Breger, a law professor at
Catholic University of America, said it
is unrealistic to expect Bush to take
such a controversial step so early in his
presidency. "Bush has not yet put
together his Middle East team, so it's
hard to believe he'll examine Middle
East policy before he puts his team
together," Breger said.
And with the climate in the Middle
East so dramatically changed since
Bush's AIPAC speech eight months
ago, Breger said, the new president
must reassess the political ramifica-
tions of moving the embassy.
"Do you want to throw a match
where there is already gas?" Breger
asked. 0
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