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“Paris is the capital of France. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. It’s been the
capital of Israel for 3,000 years. It’s been the capital of the Jewish state for 70 years.”
— BENJAMIN NETANYAHU
of Palestine.”
In addition to the violent pro-
tests in Europe, the continent’s
political leaders roundly opposed
President Donald Trump’s recent
moves on Jerusalem, including
his recognition of the city as the
Israeli capital and his expression
of plans to move the U.S. embas-
sy there from Tel Aviv.
Last Thursday, the European
Union’s (EU) diplomatic chief,
Federica Mogherini, said the
Jerusalem policy changes might
push the Middle East “back-
wards to even darker times than
the ones we’re already living in.”
“The European establish-
ment sees in Israel — and to a
lesser extent the United States
— all that it has left behind in
its pursuit of Kantian perpetual
peace, so it responds furiously to
their cooperation,” Daniel Pipes,
president of the Middle East
Forum think tank, told JNS.
NETANYAHU IN FRANCE
During a joint press conference
on Sunday with French President
Emmanuel Macron, Netanyahu
said Israel “has provided valu-
able intelligence to many
countries in Europe and many
countries outside Europe that
Vida Velasco
Sheldon Freilich
Rep. Sander Levin
has prevented dozens of hor-
rible terrorist attacks, some of
which, unfortunately, [the French
people] have suffered.”
“We fight together in this fight
against barbarism, and you’re a
principal leader in that fight,” he
told Macron. “Across the Middle
East as well, your efforts in
Lebanon are to be commended;
your efforts to prevent the
spread of Iranian aggression are
to be commended.”
Netanyahu acknowledged that
he and Macron don’t “agree on
everything,” but are “working
on it.” Last week, Macron called
Trump’s Jerusalem policy chang-
es “regrettable” and said the city’s
status should be determined
through negotiations.
Macron has also agreed to
work with Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan to pres-
sure the U.S. to reassess its recog-
nition of Jerusalem.
“Paris is the capital of France.
Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
It’s been the capital of Israel for
3,000 years. It’s been the capital
of the Jewish state for 70 years.
We respect your history and
your choices, and we know that
as friends, you respect ours,”
Netanyahu told the French presi-
dent, adding that “we should
give peace a chance, by bringing
things to their historical truth,
by opening up the possibility of
renewed negotiations.”
continued from page 12
against Israel.
“StandWithUs fully supports
the president’s recognition
of a millennia-old fact, that
Jerusalem is the capital of Israel,”
said Vida Velasco, StandWithUs
Michigan’s associate director.
“When we start with the facts,
peace can be a reality, not just a
dream.”
Sheldon Freilich, president
of the Zionist Organization of
American, Michigan Region,
said moving the U.S. Embassy
to Jerusalem is long overdue.
“The United States has treated
Israel as a second-class citizen
by refusing to place its embassy
in the Jewish nation’s capital,” he
said.
Despite nearly unanimous
negative reactions from other
world leaders, Freilich feels the
move will enhance worldwide
Rabbi Mark Miller
“DOUBLE STANDARD”
REJECTED
Following his stop in France,
Netanyahu visited Brussels for a
meeting with all 28 foreign min-
isters of EU member states.
“It has been 22 years since an
Israeli prime minister has held
such a meeting,” Netanyahu
noted, adding that he ascribes
“great importance to Europe” but
will not accept the continent’s
“double standard” on Israel.
“I hear voices from there
condemning President Trump’s
historic statement, but I have
not heard condemnations of
the rockets fired at Israel or
the terrible incitement against
it,” Netanyahu said, adding, “I
am not prepared to accept this
hypocrisy, and as usual at this
important forum, I will present
Israel’s truth without fear and
with head held high.”
Pipes said that European gov-
ernments “would love to tear
into Israel for the embassy move.
Trouble is, Israel had little to do
with this event, so there’s not
much they can do except bluster
in impotent rage.”
On Monday, Netanyahu said
during a joint appearance with
the EU’s Mogherini, “I believe
that all or most of the European
countries will move their embas-
sies to Jerusalem, recognize
Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and
engage robustly with us for secu-
rity, prosperity and peace.”
CZECH SUPPORT
Breaking rank with Europe’s
broad condemnation of
America’s moves on Jerusalem,
the Czech Republic on Dec. 6
recognized the western part of
the city — areas controlled by
Israel before the 1967 Six-Day
War — as the Israeli capital.
On Saturday, Czech President
Milos Zeman doubled down on
the move, accusing EU member
states of being “cowards” for not
supporting U.S. recognition of
Jerusalem.
Barring a shift in the European
political landscape, such as anti-
immigration parties coming
to power, Pipes believes Israel-
Europe relations “will continue
to deteriorate.” •
respect for America “by demon-
strating the U.S. can be counted
on to keep its commitments to
its allies and will not be intimi-
dated and show weakness by
appeasing threats of violence.”
Such threats were a reason
some Jewish leaders and orga-
nizations were less enthusiastic
about Trump’s move.
Although U.S. Rep. Sander
Levin (D-Mich.) voted for the
1995 act of Congress recogniz-
ing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital,
he has concerns about Trump’s
announcement, saying it may
make a durable peace harder to
achieve by inflaming tensions.
He said he hopes the U.S. will
take “every feasible step” to help
negotiate a two-state solution.
The Union for Reform Judaism
called the announcement “ill-
timed” and “all but certain to
continued on page 16
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December 14 • 2017
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