Several European countries have been found to be in violation of a U.N. resolution they themselves supported when condemning U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
The U.N. General Assembly resolution that followed the U.S. announcement on Dec. 6 called on all countries "to refrain from the establishment of diplomatic missions in the Holy City of Jerusalem." But the eight European countries in question – Belgium, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom – actively operate Palestinian Authority consulates or embassies in Jerusalem despite having voted in favor of the resolution.
The president of the world's largest Zionist Christian organization, International Christian Embassy Jerusalem has come out against what he called the "hypocritical and inappropriate conduct of the international community toward Israel and Jerusalem."
ICEJ President Jurgen Buhler sent letters to each of those nation's leaders, in which he noted that "the international community has always called for an even-handed approach to Jerusalem, so as not to prejudge this sensitive final-status issue. Yet here are eight nations that have never been called out for violating this principle by placing their chief missions to the Palestinians in Jerusalem. It turns out the demand for neutrality has just been a hollow pretext for denying the Jewish people and state their rightful place in Jerusalem. So no nation can now complain when a country decides to open an embassy to Israel in Jerusalem.
"Many world leaders have been critical of the recent decision by U.S. President Donald Trump regarding Jerusalem, contending that it prejudges a sensitive issue which should left to final-status talks. Instead, they have urged an even-handed approach to Jerusalem. Yet [your country] has been violating this very principle for some time now due to your chief diplomatic mission to the Palestinians being located in … Jerusalem. If you truly wanted to be fair, you would either have both your diplomatic missions to Israel and the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem, or neither."
Buhler emphasized that "no one should ever doubt the deep Jewish attachment to Jerusalem, which dates back four thousand years to the Hebrew Patriarch Abraham. Over these many centuries, Jerusalem has been the capital of only one nation – Israel. Yet for 70 years now, the international community has come up with hollow pretexts for denying this historic reality."
Buhler then called upon the leaders to "join the United States by announcing your official recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, along with your intention to move your nation's embassy to Jerusalem as soon as feasible."
