While Israelis revel in the 50th celebration of “Jerusalem Day” – the day the ancient city was conquered by its army during the 1967 war, thus re-uniting Jerusalem’s west side with the east, which had been under Jordanian control since 1948 war – American diplomats are putting final touches on the building that will, as of Monday, serve as the US Embassy to the State of Israel. But first, it will host a gala party that will be attended by some 800 Israelis, Americans and international representatives. Even before that happens, the Israeli government will express its gratitude to the United States and President Donald Trump with a reception hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday afternoon. With hundreds of foreign journalists parachuting in to cover the festivities, stories are being repeated with unlimited frequency, the most frequently asked question for diplomats seemingly being about the chilling effect the embassy move will have on the peace process with the Palestinians. While the angry Palestinian reaction has been reiterated many times over, a discernable shift in opinion is clearly forming. Expressed clearly by former president Obama’s own ambassador to the Jewish state, Daniel Shapiro, in an op-ed for CNN, the envoy writes that, “moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem will help strengthen the principle that Israel’s claim to the city, born of centuries of Jewish connection to the city, is legitimate and must be recognized. It probably should have been long ago. What will help complete the picture is similar clarity by the US that the Palestinians, with their own historical and religious ties, have a valid claim to East Jerusalem.” To many who have watched events unfold, no one better suits the image of the weekend’s “Father of the Bride” and “Mother of the Groom” all rolled into one than US Ambassador to Israel David M. Friedman. His euphoric demeanor clearly reflects his unshaken confidence through the presidential campaign, confirmation hearings and first year in office that, as he told The Media Line even before the president became the Republican candidate, “there is no way the embassy will not be moved.” Although Jerusalem Day is, as might be expected, widely commemorated by residents of the city in numbers far greater than elsewhere in the country, with the arrival of 300 members of the American delegation including Secretary of the Treasury Mnuchin, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, Sen. Lindsey Graham heading a dozen guests from Capitol, and a significant number of the American and Christian organizational elite, word is going out from Jerusalem that the party light is lit.
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