At least our Ambassador will be, soon.
Jerusalem sits at an historic crossroad: the northern terminus of an old caravan route that brought frankincense from the hills around modern day Aden, up to the major trade routes; if you then turn west, you entered Ancient Egypt, north led to Asia Minor, north-east and then east to Mesopotamia and from there along the Silk Road to China. This north-south trail, known as the “frankincense road” also brought myrrh to the ancient Middle East, and eventually brought us all coffee.
The caravans between Egypt and Arabia and Asia – beginning perhaps 6,000 years ago, passed through or near Jerusalem, through Judea – now called Israel and Palestine. A spring near Jerusalem was being used by locals in 4,500 BC, and references to “Urusalem” (the city of Salem or Shalem – the god of the evening) is found on some of the earliest Mesopotamian tablets.
Jerusalem is, therefore, founded on a fact of geography: a defensible spot (highlands), with water, sitting at the intersection of a series of major trade routes to the leading kingdom of the ancient world, Egypt. The city has been repeatedly attacked, besieged, sacked and burned throughout its 6,000 year history. And a host of different peoples have controlled it: Canaanites, Egyptians, Jews, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Seleucids, Romans, Umayyids, Abbasids, Ottomans, et al.
Everyone knows the basics of Jerusalem, at least in its religious context. The first Jewish settlement in the general area probably took place around 1500 – 1400 BC. Jewish scholars state it was 480 years before the reign of Solomon (which would place it at 1450BC), some archeologists suggest it was around 1200 BC. But around 1,000 BC David captured the city, naming it the capital of the Jewish state. His son, King Solomon, built a great temple at the heart of the city, finishing it some time around 950 BC.
Christ was born just outside of Jerusalem, lived his adult life within a relatively short distance of the city, was tried there, and was crucified just outside the city walls.
And, Mohammed ascended into heaven from Temple Mount.
Thus, for Judaism and Christianity, Jerusalem is the ‘first’ city among the cities of earth. For Islam, Jerusalem is the third most important city, behind Mecca and Medina.
As for Jerusalem’s recent history, it remains contested; after the Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1922, the city and the region fell under the British Mandate. In 1947 the UN named Jerusalem an international city under a special control regime. The Arabs rejected this plan; in 1948 Israel declared it’s independence and seized control of western Jerusalem. In 1950 the Knesset formally identified Jerusalem as the nation’s capital. In 1967, following the 6-Day War, Israel occupied and annexed East Jerusalem.
And so it’s been since; and Palestinians still maintain that Jerusalem is their capital and want East Jerusalem back.
So, why move the US embassy now? (Besides the unheard-of reason that Mr. Trump apparently wants to keep campaign promises…)
There’s an argument that moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem it will make it more difficult to negotiate any future settlement. This is nonsense. If giving up control of part of Jerusalem is something that in some future negotiation would advance Israeli (or US) interests in peace and security, the presence of the US embassy will not affect that negotiating position.
Interestingly, while many US and European news agencies engaged in the expected level of caterwauling, the “Times of India” reported that Saudi Arabia issued a more or less proforma condemnation of this decision, but then the Crown Prince contacted Palestinian President Abbas and basically told him not to worry, there’s more to follow.
The implication is that the Trump White House has been working with the Saudis (and presumably the Israelis) and there will soon be some new peace plan that will be backed by all three nations.
That this movement of the embassy might be some sort of opening move to produce progress towards some sort peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians is reason enough to announce moving the embassy.
But it’s also likely the US, along with the Saudis and Israel – concerned as all three are with growing Iranian and Shia aggressiveness – are trying to clear the table of other problems as much as possible so that they can begin to deal directly with the Iranian-Shia threat.
And that makes this more than worth the effort.
Copyright 2017 Arrias
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