Condemning the wrong side

We must also condemn the denial of reality, history and justice being made both by most of the Western world, and unfortunately by a part of the Jewish world.

While a small part of the civilized world celebrates the recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of the State of Israel, most condemn it. French President Emmanuel Macron asked the United States to respect the status quo and to reverse its position. Justin Trudeau of Canada also expressed his dissatisfaction and Erdogan of Turkey said that Israel is a “child killing state”; and that they are not going to “leave the fate of Jerusalem in the hands of a terrorist state.”

The Arab States also showed their repudiation, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt. Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority, declared that “this measure is a gift to Israel” and that it “promotes the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory”. In addition, they cancelled the planned meeting with Mike Pence in which supposedly they would continue discussing the next “peace treaty”.

But terror also appeared again. Hamas called for “Days of Rage”, in which Palestinians should go out and protest. Attacks occurred, including the stabbing of a security guard at the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem.

But this is nothing new. In fact, if history can teach us something, this is just the beginning. In the 1980s, the scapegoat of the first Intifada was an accident that led to the death of four Palestinians. In the Second Intifada, it was Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Temple Mount. In this case, it will be the recognition of Jerusalem as the Capital of the State of Israel.

However, are these real reasons for a violent uprising?

The answer is no.

In practice, the Palestinian National Authority never ceased to be the terrorist Palestine Liberation Organization. They continue to promote hatred, teaching anti-Semitic texts to their children in their schools. They continue to provoke terror, thus spreading spontaneous attacks by “lone soldiers”, while rewarding them and their families. And they continue extorting, with their constant threats of attacks.

Even more worrying is the reaction of the Western world.

Instead of supporting President Trump’s decision, which clearly teaches Palestinians that their terrorism leads to nothing, Western countries overwhelmingly complained that it was a mistake and warned that there would be violence as a result.

Is it clear? The world assumes that if President Trump takes a pro-Israel measure (which is also a pro-History and pro-Justice measure) there will be violence. And instead of condemning that violence, they prefer to condemn President Trump’s decision.

Moreover, large parts of the Jewish community outside of Israel is even worse in this regard.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of Union for Reform Judaism, which is the largest division of Judaism in the United States, said:

“President Trump’s ill-timed, but expected, announcement affirms what the Reform Jewish Movement has long held: that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people and the State of Israel.”

Seems pro-Trump, right? Well, keep reading:

“Yet while we share the President’s belief that the U.S. Embassy should, at the right time, be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, we cannot support his decision to begin preparing that move now, absent a comprehensive plan for a peace process. Additionally, any relocation of the American Embassy to West Jerusalem should be conceived and executed in the broader context reflecting Jerusalem’s status as a city holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims alike.”

This statement goes against reality, history and justice. At first, they mention that they acknowledge Jerusalem as the Capital of the Jewish people, but then they say that the embassy should be in West Jerusalem. Why? Isn’t Jerusalem as a whole capital of the Jewish people and the State of Israel? Moreover, why is it wrong to relocate the embassy now? It should have been done in 1995. Even before, but better late than never.

The president of Americans For Peace Now, an organization linked to Shalom Achshav, Debra DeLee, said:

“Trump is causing severe damage to the predictions of peace in the Middle East, putting lives in danger and degrading American leadership.”

I must ask both the President of Americans For Peace Now and the ones that agree with her to excuse me, but as far as I’m concerned, there has never been a real positive prospect for peace because Palestinians rejected every peace offer and only focused in launching wars and Intifadas. They are the ones putting Israeli lives in danger.

These kind of statements shows that Western countries are denying both reality and history, while many in the Jewish communities around the globe are leaving aside the foundation stones of their religion and culture in favor of a non-existent peace deal. More importantly, they are also emboldening terrorists to commit attacks, because the latter know that people in civilized countries will justify them, or just say: “This is Trump’s fault”. Actually, the fault is on the terrorists and the ones promoting them, such as the Palestinian Authority. But they never get blamed for anything.

We must not just condemn terrorism and violence. We must also condemn the denial of reality, history and justice being made both by most of the Western world, and unfortunately by a part of the Jewish world.

At the same time, we must cherish the triumph of history and justice. This week, President Trump contributed to this triumph.

The author is a student at the Machon LeMadrichei Chul in Jerusalem.