Listen as Steve Malzberg spoke with author Nicholas Blincoe regarding his article, Why Trump’s assertion of Jerusalem as capital of Israel would be a catastrophe.
Why Trump’s assertion of Jerusalem as capital of Israel would be a catastrophe
It is harder than it ought to be, explaining why recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is a bad idea. The city has been Israel’s centre of government since 1948. While most countries have held off, the US Congress passed a Jerusalem Embassy Act in 1995, which included a line recognising the city as Israel’s capital. President Trump campaigned on a promise to implement the act, and though he has previously followed other presidents in signing waivers suspending it, this week he has missed two deadlines, suggesting that he is strongly tempted to give it the go-ahead.
If he does, it will derail the last hope of peace, according to the Palestinian Authority, and degrade US influence in the world, as countries including Turkey have warned. These may not seem like persuasive arguments. The US has willingly surrendered much of its standing; there is no peace process; and the reputation of both Turkey and the Palestinian Authority is low. But recognising Israel’s current version of Jerusalem would create enormous and new insoluble problems without addressing the real issues that beset the city.
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