Mariaschin noted, “We warmly welcomed President Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. In doing so, he rectified a seven-decades old wrong. Jerusalem is both the ancient capital of the Jewish people–going back more than three millennia–but also its present capital, as well. It is the seat of Israel’s government, its parliament, Supreme Court, and other departments and agencies.” 

Every country in the world has a right to designate its own capital – and have it recognized in the international community. Until President Trump’s declaration, Israel had been denied that right. We now hope that other countries will follow suit.

The president made a compelling and convincing case for the for the decision to recognize, not only by referencing the attachment of the Jewish people to the ancient and present capital, but by also mentioning the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995, which the U.S. Congress adopted to encourage the relocation of the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Nothing in the president’s declaration detracts from the importance of pursuing a process that leads to peace between Israelis and Palestinians. Indeed, the president referenced the need for a peaceful resolution of that conflict. The present and several past Israeli governments have offered numerous times to sit at the negotiating table to effectuate an agreement between the parties. That agreement cannot be imposed from the outside; it must be both parties who accomplish that task. We believe that one impediment to moving that possibility forward was the unfair, intentional international equivocation regarding Israel’s capital.  The Trump Administration’s decision  recognizes what everyone knows to be a fact: that Israel’s capital is in Jerusalem, which speaks to the permanence and the place of Israel in the region. That message can have a positive impact on the long-term hopes for peace.”