U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to transfer the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem has shattered one of the cornerstones of U.S foreign policy. Before Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act in 1995, both Democrats and Republicans vied for the right to implement the law that would transfer the embassy. Despite this, presidents on both sides of the political aisle reneged on their campaign promise to move the embassy. That is, until Trump took office.
I asked David Friedman, who would later be appointed U.S. ambassador to Israel, what would happen if, in the new president's first meeting with State Department officials, the diplomats would warn against moving the embassy. Friedman replied that Trump would fire them immediately.
Trump did decide to transfer the embassy, and his secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, is now busy rehabilitating the State Department.
U.S. presidents deserve a lot of credit when it comes to Israel. President Harry Truman was the first to recognize the fledgling state. Trump brought the process full circle by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital. It is now on the city's leaders to prove the capital deserves the respect, and even the burden imposed on it, as a result of this recognition.
The current U.S. administration has not abandoned its goal of achieving regional peace; it is just very busy with pressing matters, such as free trade, Iran and North Korea. It is now time for Israel's government and the Jerusalem Municipality to prove the capital is not just sacred to the three monotheistic religions but also habitable for its taxpaying residents.
Jerusalemites see the filth and the disparity in services provided to residents in the east of the city. It may also very well be that once the diplomats relocate to Jerusalem, Christian and Muslim religious leaders draw their attention to the improper treatment they receive from the city.
Now that it has been recognized by the largest superpower in the world, Israel's capital must prove to its residents, both new and old, that Jerusalem is as normal a city as possible. While the incredibly trying circumstances that make this goal all but impossible to achieve are well known, we are nevertheless excited to see that Trump not only makes promises, he delivers.
