U.S.: Next Year in Jerusalem?

It is hard to believe at this late date—after scores of credible experts have told Congress that American lives will be at risk throughout the Muslim world if the U.S. moves its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem—that Congressional resolutions demanding that the Administration do that very thing are still high on the agenda. But they are, and have very good chance of passage.

We realize, of course, that the possibility that blood may flow should not always deter the U.S. from the defense of its security and its values. But leaving the embassy where it is will certainly not endanger our country—whereas moving it could not only cause security problems but would also be in conflict with U.S. values, rather than in support of them. The move would violate the long-standing American pledge not to recognize a forcible, unilateral takeover of any part of Jerusalem by either Israel or the Arabs.

Many arguments are being put forward on the Hill as to why the U. S. should break this commitment, but the one that seems to get the biggest hearing goes something like this: "A country should be allowed to have its capital anywhere it wants, shouldn't it?"

The Road from Danzig

Well, now—is that so? We're wondering how Congressmen might have felt about this proposition if, say, Hitler had said he wanted to turn Danzig, or Strasbourg, or even Vienna into the capital of the Third Reich, for historic and ethnic reasons. Or how they would react today if Muammar Qadhafi claimed that the new capital of Libya was now Faya-Largeau, in the Arabic speaking northern region of Chad which he now occupies. Or if the Soviet Union announced that its new capital was Kabul.

These might seem to be far-fetched examples, but they're really not. Israel established West Jerusalem as its capital within a year or so of having accepted a U.N. partition plan which specifically excluded Jerusalem from being part of either a Jewish state or an Arab state in Palestine. Later, it captured East Jerusalem and annexed it, making the whole city its capital—despite additional, U.S.-supported resolutions in the United Nations calling upon Israel to negotiate with the Arabs over territory. Of all the world's nations, only Costa Rica and El Salvador, by moving their embassies to Jerusalem, have been willing to show acceptance of Israel's use of force to impose its will in Jerusalem. The U.S. should stand tall, not small, by keeping its embassy just where it is.