Donald Trump and Jerusalem: US Embassy and Third Temple
May 14, 2018: U.S. President Donald Trump honored his promise for the Promised Land and on Israel’s 70th anniversary moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. Unlike the presidents before him, Trump is following through. Of course, as with all previous significant events in Israel, the move is met with violence and the lost of many lives. Update on timeline below.
Donald Trump became a King Cyrus of sorts for Jerusalem. A Congressional delegation arrived in Israel March 4th (2017) to investigate the situation of moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to the Holy City of David – Jerusalem (Yerushalayim). About four thousand (4000) years ago Abraham met Melchizedek (King of Salem and Priest of the El Elyon – ‘God Most High’ Gen. 14:18); then three days later climbed Mt. Moriah – the Temple Mount. In c.587 BC the Babylonians destroyed Solomon’s Temple. Then according to the Holy Scriptures, “in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, as spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia… so Cyrus said, ‘the Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for Him at Jerusalem in Judah’ (son of Jacob – Israel; Ezra 1:1-2).” And about 538 BC Ezra and Nehemiah led the Israelites to begin what would be called Herod’s Temple. And again, as prophesied by Jesus Christ (Mark 13:1-2), the Temple was destroyed – in 70 AD by the Romans under Titus.
The Jewish Sanhedrin (Beth Din HaGadol – the Great Court) was disbanded by Roman proconsul Gabinius 57 BC, but restored in 20 AD when Judah gained independence under Rome. Then after the destruction of the Temple, the Sanhedrin was moved from Jerusalem to Yavneh. In 425 the Sanhedrin ceased after Gamliel VI was executed under order of Emperor Theodosius II, who made Temple actions illegal. And with the rise of the Muslims about 640, the Arabs seized and controlled their territory and banned the religion. After about 1600 years, October 2004 the Jewish Sanhedrin was reestablished under Rabbi Yosef Elyashiv (died at 102). In Elul 5765 or June 2005, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz (age 80; 5777 or 2017) was elected to Head the Sanhedrin.
Previous Administrations
After WWII (allies pushed back not only the Germans and Japanese, but also the Turks and Arabs opposed to the Jews), in 1947, the UN adopted Resolution 181 which was supposed to make Jerusalem a Corpus Separatum (‘separated body’) under a special international regime in order to protect the holy sites of both the Jews of Israel (which was in the process of becoming a state in 1948) and the Muslims.
The 104th Congress of the United States passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995. It was passed, with a 93-5 vote in the Senate and 374-37 in the House, to fund the relocation of the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, no later than May 31, 1999. However, President Bill Clinton would not implement it during his time in office (1993-2001), nor George W. Bush (2001-2009) or Barack Obama (2009-2017). Trump on the campaign trail promise that he would be the President to move it.
Ronald Reagan and George H. Bush administrations were opposed to moving the embassy to Jerusalem. As candidates for the presidency, however, Bill Clinton (and in 2016 Hillary), George W. Bush and Barack Obama all pledged to move the embassy. January 2015, the Jerusalem Post wrote, “Netanyahu’s last visit to the US in October included some unwelcome exchanges, now routine in his relationship with Obama.” Donald Trump promised likewise to move the Embassy to the Holy City; however, Trump is a friend of Israel’s Prime Minister, father to a Jewish daughter and son-in-law (Jared Kushner – an energetic intelligent 36 year old senior advisor, whose family has known Netanyahu’s family personally for decades), supporter of Israel and appears to be delivering on the promise.
However, Clinton, Bush and Obama all recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital; yet, feared moving the capital for the sake of diplomacy with Muslim Nations. The Federalist article below reports this to be true, along with videos.
http://thefederalist.com/2018/05/14/watch-obama-clinton-bush-say-jerusalem-israel-capital/
TIMELINE for EMBASSY Move
2016 – Donald Trump Campaign: states several times that he would support and push to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.
December 12, 2016: Republican Party campaign manager (now Counselor to President) Kellyanne Conway said to News sources, concerning the move of the US Embassy to Jerusalem, “That is very big priority for this president-elect, Donald Trump… It is something that our friend Israel… would appreciate…”
January 3, 2017: Less than a week in the new session; Senators Dean Heller, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio introduced to the 115th Congress the 2017 Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act which referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
January 4, 2017: Representative Leonard Lance introduced H.R. 265 to be assigned to a congressional committee before going to vote in the House and Senate.
| H.R. 265/S. 11: Section 2 of the Bill states, ‘recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel (H.R. 257) and relocation of the United States Embassy.’ It says, “every citizen of Israel should have the right to reside anywhere in the undivided city of Jerusalem…” and that “the President should immediately implement the provisions of the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995.” The Act also appropriates funds for 2017 through 2019. Similar bills where proposed in 2011 and 2013, but Obama ignored them. Nearly every US embassy in the world is located at the nation’s capital. |
January 2017: Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas sent a letter to Trump asking him not to relocate the Embassy and that it would have serious consequences on the peace process. According to the Jerusalem Post (1/9/2017) “Abbas also sent letters to other world leaders, including the Russian president, the French president, the Chinese premier, the German chancellor, the UK prime minister, the EU commissioner and the Arab-League secretary-general, calling on them to ‘undertake all efforts possible to prevent the transfer of the American Embassy to Jerusalem’.”
January 13, 2017: the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Muhammad Hussein preached in his sermon from al-Aksa Mosque that America’s “the pledge to move the embassy is not just an assault against Palestinians but against Arabs and Muslims, who will not remain silent.”
January 14, 2017: PA President Abbas met with Pope Francis for his support against the US Embassy move in Jerusalem.
January 18, 2017: President Obama in a final Press Conference stated that his administration warned President-elect Trump’s team that “sudden, unilateral moves” such as moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem could have “explosive” consequences. (Sudden: Did he forget Israel has been a state since 1948 and the UN mandated protection of Jerusalem’s Holy Sites and the right for the Jews to be recognized? Thus, Jerusalem as its capital and America’s right to put our Embassy in that capital.)
January 20, 2017: Donald J. Trump took the Presidential oath of office.
January 22, 2017: The Arab League with Palestinian and Fatah leader, Jibril Rajoub, warned America that moving the Embassy to Jerusalem would be “a declaration of war against Muslims.” Rajoub is a Fatah Central Committee member and ally of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ ruling Fatah party (an Islamic extremist’s political party with ties to the PLO, Muslim Brotherhood and at least indirectly ISIS affiliates) see: Top Islamic Terrorists Groups
Arab League in Cairo, Egypt 2016
January 23, 2017: Trump White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer put off directly answering about a timeline for moving the Embassy and stated, “There’s no decision, we’re at the very early stages of that decision-making process.”
February 2, 2017: Jordan’s King Abdullah met Trump at White House and warned that moving the Embassy could be detrimental to the two-state solution; and bring violence.
February 15, 2017: President Trump and PM Netanyahu hold a Press Conference in the White House. Trump’s first foreign head invited to the White House was Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
| Trump began the conference welcoming his ‘friend’ and saying, “…with this visit the United States again reaffirms our unbreakable bond with our cherished ally Israel… (our ‘partnership’).” Netanyahu stated, “…I deeply value your friendship; to me and the state of Israel… Israel has no better ally the United States and I want to assure you that the United States has no better ally than Israel. Our alliance has been remarkably strong, but under your (Trump’s) leadership; I am confident it will get even stronger…” |
Feb. 27 2017: The Palestinian’s top envoy to the United States is warning that moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem could disrupt efforts to secure peace in the Middle East. Maen Areikat says an “emotional decision” to shift the embassy’s location “is going to have very, very negative repercussions.”
March 2, 2017: The nomination of Trump’s Ambassador to Israel was approved, 12 to 9, by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He must be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate.
| David Friedman was on Trump’s December 2016 Transition Team. Friedman’s father was a rabbi and he, a lawyer and an Orthodox Jew, has said in the past that he opposes the Palestine Two-state solution. Yet in the confirmation hearing he stated for the divided Senators and world, when asked about the Two-state solution, “it still remains the best possibility for peace in the region.” Friedman has accused Obama of ‘blatant anti-Semitism.’ He has said he would move the US Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He supports more Israel settlements and annexing the West Bank. Friedman stated to a crowd in Israel (October 2016) concerning the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, “the law provides that the obligation to move the embassy to Jerusalem can be waived at the desire of the state department. The reaction from Donald Trump is going to be you know what guys; your all fired.” |
March 4, 2017: The Trump sent US Delegation arrived in Israel to investigate the moving of the Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. They joined Rabbi Glick and all to meet with PM Netanyahu. Glick stated, “Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for thousands of years, since King David… Now is the time for the US president to keep his promise and the law passed by Congress in 1995 and lead the free world to recognize reality and declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel and the Jewish people.”
Delegation: including Rabbi Yehudah Glick (2nd left)
March 4, 2017: Palestinians protest the embassy move to the Holy City of David (Jerusalem). Abu Zayyad, a spokesperson for Fatah warned that the US “should understand that moving the US embassy to Jerusalem will not only explode the situation in Palestine but the whole Mena (Middle East – North Africa) region.”
Palestinians protest against plans to move US Embassy to Jerusalem
March 7, 2017: Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman met with Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Defense Secretary James Mattis.
March 8, 2017: The Arab League voted unanimously for a resolution to block the relocation of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv (Israel’s 4th largest city) to the Holy City, Jerusalem.
March 10, 2017: During a scheduled phone call with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas, Trump invited Abbas to the White House for a discussion about resolutions leading to peace between Israel and Palestinians. Abbas stress the two-state solution was necessary. In the Feb. 15 news conference Trump stated, “I’m looking at two-state and one-state, and I like the one that both parties like…”
May 17, 2017: Trump administration delayed the embassy move for another 6 months; stating “no one should consider this step to be in any way a retreat from the President’s strong support for Israel and the United States-Israel alliance… President Trump made this decision to maximize the chances of successfully negotiating a deal between Israel and the Palestinians…”
December 5, 2017: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman warned U.S. leaders that declaring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital “would constitute a flagrant provocation to all Muslims, all over the world.” Nevertheless, Jerusalem was and is the rightful capital of the Jews, and with or without a two-state solution perhaps Pres. Trump will do what many others before him have not had the boldness and care to do – move the embassy and recognize the Holy City is the capital of Israel. As of the first week in December, Trump still postponed to announcement – but in his style – has put out both explicit and implicit implecations that he will follow through with his promise to both American voters and Israel.
December 6, 2017: From Washington D.C. (USA), President Donald Trump officially stated, “I have determined that it is time to officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel… While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. Today, I am delivering.”
Trump will act under a 1995 law that requires the United States to move its embassy to Jerusalem. Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, only consistently put justice in fear of unstoppable conflict in the Middle East. After WWII and the new United Nations agreed to recognize Israel as a state, immediately in 1948 war between the Jews and Arab Muslims began – freedom and justice often comes at a cost.
December 7, 2017: Palestinian Islamist group Hamas called for a new intifada (‘uprising’) and protests have begun in several parts of Israel, as well as other places such as Cairo and Jordan. There is usually a cost for freedom and change and justice. After WWII, the newly created United Nations recognized Israel, and immediately after it became a state in 1948 war broke out between Israel and Arab Muslims.
December 18, 2017: Less than two weeks after US President Trump announced that America recognizes Jerusalem as the Capital of Israel and will move the embassy in 2018; the United Nations Security Council sought to block the U.S. passing the following resolution: “that any decisions and actions which purport to have altered, the character, status or demographic composition of the Holy City of Jerusalem have no legal effect, are null and void and must be rescinded in compliance with relevant resolutions of the Security Council.” However, U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley vetoed the declaration. Islamic protests continue, as many as 80,000 people demonstrated around the U.S. embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The Security Council consists of five permanent members: China, France, Russia, the UK and the US, as well as 10 non-permanent members. A veto from any of the five permanent members would block the resolution from passing. Nevertheless, Palestinian Foreign Minister al-Maliki stated that they would call for an emergency special session of the 193-member U.N. General Assembly. The outcome would only be for political pressure, because it is non-binding on the United States decision.
January 5, 2018: a year after S. 11 and H.R. 265 was proposed, to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the embassy there; the Bills have still not been reported to Committee and scheduled for debate. Skopos Labs predicts only a 12% chance of the House bill being enacted and 4% for the Senate bill.
January 17, 2018: While in India, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said that the US would move the embassy before the “end of the year.” US Sec. of State Rex Tillerson responded, it is ‘not something that is going to happen this year, probably not next year.’
January 22, 2018: US VP Pence, while speaking before Israel’s parliament, declared that “Jerusalem… (is) the capital of the state of Israel;” and “in the weeks ahead, our administration will advance its plan to open the United States Embassy in Jerusalem – and that United States Embassy will open before the end of next year.” (2019)
The move from Tel Aviv to the Holy City requires finding an appropriate location and renovating the location for the opening. So technically, both Netanyahu and Pence could be right. With or without Congress, it is most likely Trump will not delay beyond 2019; about the same time Israel Transportation Ministry proposes the launch the Donald Trump Railway Station near the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
May 13-14, 2018: Hours before Embassy move violent protest broke out in the Gaza Strip; about 45 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces and as many as 1,700 wounded after thousands of protesters began to converge on the border and hurled ‘firebombs and explosive devices.’ Estimates of 35,000 protesters have been given.
May 14, 2018: Pres. Trump kept his promise for the ‘Promised Land’ and moved the U.S. from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Palestinians leaders denounce the move and claim East Jerusalem home of their capital; yet, historians know that Jerusalem was and is the capital of Israel. Netanyahu said, ‘Thank you, President Trump, for your bold decision. Thank you for making the alliance between Israel and the United States stronger than ever.” Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were at the site for the celebration. Additionally, Sunday marked the 51st anniversary of ‘Jerusalem Day;’ from the 1967 Six-Day War and Israel’s miraculous victories.
The new site will remain under construction for up to seven years, and most of the 850 embassy workers in Tel Aviv will not move to Jerusalem until the permanent new building is constructed. The location is on the land of the American Consulate.
| (The non-historian leaders in America and the world simply do not understand that there will NEVER be long-term PEACE between the Muslims and the Jewish over the land of ISRAEL.) Perhaps they should hear the Prophet Jeremiah, “They have healed the hurt of …my people slightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace;’ when there is no peace.” They definitely should read the words of Paul to the Thessalonians, concerning “the coming of the Lord (Jesus Christ)… concerning the times… you know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety,’ then sudden destruction comes… and they shall not escape (1 Thes. 5:1-3).” |
JERUSALEM: Capital, Embassy and Temple
February 2017: Rabbi Hillel Weiss, spokesman for the nascent Sanhedrin spoke to Breaking Israel News saying that both U.S. President Trump and Russian President Putin have voiced support for Israel. He explained, Trump promised to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, move the US Embassy to the Holy City of David, Jerusalem, and to restore our alliance. He told that Putin had expressed a desire for the Temple to be rebuilt; and stated that the two Presidents were ‘modern-day Cyrus figures – non-Jewish kings’ who recognize Israel and the Temple.
Weiss stated that ‘Cyrus the Great, King of Persia in the sixth century BCE, announced in the first year of his reign that he was prompted by God to make a decree that the Temple in Jerusalem should be rebuilt.’ He quoted Ezra 1:2 and then told the news source that the Sanhedrin plans to call on the two world leaders to take up this ancient Biblical decree and holy mission of the Jewish people.
Rabbi Weiss went as for to say that the US election of Trump made the eternal Jewish dream a real possibility. Weiss reminded readers of the Jerusalem Embassy Act passed by Congress in 1995; and called on Trump to follow through with his promise.
He reported to Breaking Israel News that in 2012, Putin visited the Kotel (Western Wall) and stood silence for several minutes in prayer; then Putin read Psalms from a Russian-Hebrew prayer book. And Weiss spoke of a story from Chadrel Charedim News; that an Israeli man at the Holy site said ‘Welcome, President Putin’ and told him what the Temple Mount and a Jewish Temple would mean to the Jewish people. The News source stated that Putin responded, “That’s exactly the reason I came here – to pray for the Temple to be built again.”
Upon learning of this exchange, the Sanhedrin sent a letter to Putin calling on him to fulfill his prayer. The Sanhedrin has also asked Trump to take up the cause and reminded him of the Balfour Declaration issued by Great Britain in 1917 just after WWI which gave official recognition and backing for the complete establishment of Israel.
Rabbi Weiss stated, “The leaders of Russia and America can lead the nations of the world to global peace through building the Temple, the source of peace… This will offset the disgraceful UNESCO resolutions that are the root cause of increasing terror… We are poised to rebuild the Temple. The political conditions today, in which the two most important national leaders in the world support the Jewish right to Jerusalem as their spiritual inheritance, is historically unprecedented.”
The TRUTH SOURCE 