On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump will hold their first face-to-face meeting since Trump became president. They’ll focus on a series of key issues facing the two nations, including the Iranian nuclear deal and a potential move of the United States Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
This summit comes at a crucial time in the long-standing partnership between the U.S. and our friends and allies in Israel. The last few acts of President Barack Obama’s feckless foreign policy threatened Israel’s sovereignty.
First, the U.S abstained from voting against United Nations Resolution 2334. Second, Secretary of State John Kerry endorsed and attended the anti-Israel Paris “Peace Conference.” Third, Obama signed a waiver delaying the move of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem for another six months.
On the campaign trail, Trump promised to move the embassy. Now he has the opportunity to deliver on that promise and move the embassy to Jerusalem, thereby recognizing the holy city as the official capital of Israel.
The delay has gone on far too long. In 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which permitted and allocated funds for the move by 1999. Fifteen years have passed and three presidents have refused to execute the congressional mandate. We must not let this failure be the final word to Israel.
Trump has the right team to get the job done. People of faith across our country, in solidarity with leaders in Israel, support Trump’s efforts. Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner, is leading the effort in the new administration to make the move a reality. Kushner has widespread support from leaders in Israel, including the mayor of Jerusalem, Israel’s deputy foreign minister Tzipi Hotovely and David Friedman, Trump’s nominee for U.S. Ambassador to Israel.
Closer to home, Sens. Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Dean Heller, all Republicans, have introduced the Jerusalem Embassy Recognition Act. As the name implies, it would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel through the move.
Trump’s recent meeting with U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May shows his eagerness to reaffirm alliances with nations with whom we share a special relationship. As he has already demonstrated, Trump is unafraid to take controversial action to do the right thing. One of his first acts as president was to sign an executive order that prevents U.S. tax dollars from funding international organizations that offer abortions and sterilizations.
Christians who support Israel should urge the government to continue on this bold path and support the embassy move. The Faith & Freedom Coalition, alongside our friends at Stand United, have launched a StandUnited.org petition asking the State Department to respect Israel’s sovereignty and stop the enemies of freedom in the region and around the world from threatening Israel.
Such support also demonstrates our dedication to Israel as a nation that shares our values. Israel, like the U.S., is a liberal democracy that gives its citizens the right to choose their own government and practice their own faith. There are Israeli citizens from all three major monotheistic faiths, as well as other minority faith groups. All are permitted to worship freely and all are given the right to vote in elections. These freedoms are rare in the Middle East, and Christians must support a government that gives its citizens these remarkable liberties.
Above all, however, supporting the move affirms our belief that the Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is the land he promised them in Scripture. God’s promises are eternal and he does not change his mind. The words he spoke to Abraham more than 4,000 years ago still hold true today. Failure to support the Jews not only denies God’s faithfulness, it hurts the people whom he chose to bear our savior.
Now is the time for decisive and deliberate action. Scripture repeatedly shows us that, after a time of frustrated waiting, God brings together the right forces to create peace and justice in the world.
Congress and Trump have an opportunity to be these forces. As Christians, we must urge them to take it.
Tim Head is executive director of the Faith & Freedom Coalition.
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