Today, President Trump followed the proud bipartisan tradition of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush of promising to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and then, once in office, saying… “nah.”
To presidential candidates, promising to move the embassy always looks like an easy promise that will build goodwill with Israelis and their fans in the United States. Once the new president is in office and reads the security assessments, suddenly it looks like a much more complicated decision. Yes, the current arrangement of a U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv and a U.S. consulate in Jerusalem is a bit of a snub; it would undoubtedly irk, say, the Jordanians if we had our embassy in Aqaba instead of Amman. But if the United States moves their embassy to Jerusalem, it effectively endorses Israel’s claim to Jerusalem, and the Arab world will react with predicable fury. Perhaps more importantly, that embassy would probably instantly become one of the world’s top ten targets for terrorism. The Israelis have some of the best security efforts in the world, but even they can’t stop everything. Last year saw a vehicular attack on soldiers at bus stop, stabbing attacks, shooting attacks, Molotov cocktails… if the U.S. moves the embassy, suddenly that building and everyone who works in it becomes the new top target of every Israel-hater in the region.
Should the U.S. move its embassy? Yes, it should, but that’s a lot easier to say when you don’t work there and you don’t have to wonder which truck coming down the adjoining street has a bomb.
Prime Minister Netanyahu issued a statement expressing disappointment, but appreciating “President Trump’s friendship to Israel and his commitment to moving the embassy in the future.” That’s what Clinton and Bush did, also — an endless series of six-month reviews.
For what it’s worth, Barack Obama never promised to move the embassy.