Sunday, June 4, 2017

President Trump Breaks Israel Embassy Promise

President Donald Trump has signed a waiver that will delay the move of the American embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, the White House said Thursday. Facing a midnight deadline that would have automatically triggered the embassy move, the President decided to break his promise and maintain the status quo.
As the deadline approached yesterday, sources at the White House late Wednesday indicated that the President would likely continue his predecessors’ practice of signing six-month waivers that prevent the embassy’s relocation. This is despite promises on the campaign trail that moving the embassy would be a foreign policy priority designed to strengthen U.S.-Israel relations after eight strained years under President Obama.
When asked by reporters on Wednesday about the impending deadline, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer was vague, saying, “Once we have a decision, we’ll put it out.”
Despite the decision, the White House insisted today: “While President Donald J. Trump signed the waiver under the Jerusalem Embassy Act and delayed moving the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, no one should consider this step to be in any way a retreat from the President’s strong support for Israel and for the United States-Israel alliance. As he has repeatedly stated his intention to move the embassy, the question is not if that move happens, but only when.”
For a President who campaigned on the promise of bold and courageous leadership, this is a cowardly, and frankly shocking failure in leadership. Reneging on this promise is a spectacular disappointment for pro-Israel supporters and voters who resonated with Trump’s strong positions on Israel. For a young administration still lacking a significant, substantive foreign policy accomplishment, moving the embassy is a pro-America, pro-Israel decision that would have set the trajectory and tone of Trump’s foreign policy, particularly in regards to the Middle East. Thus, today’s decision is not just a missed opportunity, it is a failure in leadership.
Read the rest from David Glosson HERE and follow links to related stories below:

Trump Breaks a Campaign Promise for the Fantasy of Middle East Peace

Trump renews waiver to keep U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv — for now

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