While Vice President Mike Pence was becoming the first American vice president to address Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, Israelis leaning to the political right reveled in his recitations that conservatives have only dreamed of hearing from an American administration while many those leaning leftward expressed concern that Israel’s incumbent government would take Pence’s words as a blank check to reject a peace process and remain entrenched in policies that speak only to an unsustainable status quo. While what some facetiously referred to as “the love fest” was taking place in Jerusalem, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas was pounding the international pavement, looking for a new team of interlocutors to shepherd the peace process after the American administration, in the opinion of Palestinians, had disqualified itself through President Trump’s declaration that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. Abbas was in Brussels lobbying European foreign ministers to get the European Union, as an organization, to recognize the state of Palestine. Although nine-member states have recognized “Palestine,” officials believe the impact of formal EU recognition is imperative. The Veep broke the news that the US Embassy will be moved to Jerusalem by the “end of 2019.” He also said the US will no longer certify Iranian compliance, which leaves the door open to new sanctions. There was little political risk for Pence to make his decidedly pro-Israel remarks in Israel. While President Trump’s approval rating among US Jews is about 26%, the president polls at 67% among Jewish Israelis.
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