The Split City

    

    In discussion throughout our class time this week many things interested me about the United States’ relationship with Jerusalem. While it is a relatively maintained relationship, there are always going to be people that view these relationships in a controversial light. The United States had planned to relocate their current embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. 

    There are, like stated prior, many people who view this move in a negative light. The reasoning behind these negative opinions is that it placed the United States, “[square] in the middle of the decades-long conflict over Jerusalem.” (Underwood). The issue at hand is that both the Palestinians and the Israelis believe Jerusalem to be their capital. The city is highly sacred to many yet it seems like those who are directly involved and affected by the decisions in Jerusalem are the Jews and Muslims. 

    In doing further research it was made clear to me that Trump, the catalyst for this decision in the first place, was not the first president to try and move the embassy to jerusalem. As a collective, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama all believed that moving the embassy would prove to be a good idea. However, obviously, none of them followed through with their ideas. All believed that the action would indirectly lead to the appearance of the United States siding with Israel. Vox’s reporters also say that the actions that Trump ultimately followed hindered the reputation that the United States previously had in Jerusalem as a neutral party. A statement that I found to be powerful stated that the U.S.’s prior reputation in Jerusalem was that they were “to be acting like the fireman.” (Underwood). However, the current relationship between the United States and Jerusalem makes the United states look more “like the arsonist — we’re making things worse.” (Underwood).

    All in all I believe that the United States decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem was very controversial. However, at the time of the article's publication I fully believe that the United States had planned to remain a neutral party in the centuries long battle between the two states.

Works Cited:

Vox Article

https://www.vox.com/2018/5/14/17340798/jerusalem-embassy-israel-palestinians-us-trump