Before the announcement, Senators Durbin, Booker and Blumenthal expressed concern that the move would cause violence and suggested that it shouldn't take place yet. But none of them put out statements of condemnation afterwards. Senator Warren, addressing a Union for Reform Judaism convention in Boston, agreed Jerusalem is Israel's capital, but said diplomacy, not a unilateral move by the US, should determine the final status of the city. Senator Brown merely suggested, "Let's see what happens when he announces it." Senator Murphy said he agreed with Trump that declaring Jerusalem the capital of Israel would help the peace process, but stated "It needs to be done at the right time and in the right manner. I don't see any peace process beginning any time soon, so I seriously question the wisdom of making the choice now."
Democrats either applauding Trump, not speaking up or only making moderate statements of concern -- pretty much everyone except Grijalva, Pocan, Lee, Sanders and Feinstein -- are at odds with current American Jewish opinion. A September 2017 survey by the AJC Global Jewish Advocacy, found that 44 percent of American Jews don't think the embassy should be moved to Jerusalem and 36 percent think it should be moved only "at a later date in conjunction with progress in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks." Only 16 percent responded that they supported the embassy to be moved regardless of other factors.
Why are democratic positions in congress so out of step with Jewish constituents when it comes to moving the US embassy to Jerusalem? One answer might be the power of the congressional lobby group AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), which spends upwards of $2 million annually lobbying for pro-Israel policies. AIPAC doesn't give directly to candidates. Instead they connect candidates who support their positions on Israel with pro-Israel donors of enormous means.
The Democrats are even more out of step with global opinion. Federica Mogherini, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, warned the announcement had "the potential to send us backwards to even darker times than the ones we are already living in." The state of Jordan called it "nuts" and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said it was a gift that "radicals and extremists will use to fan the language of hate." Even U.S. ally Saudi Arabia, despite its budding friendship with Israel, described it as an "unjustified and irresponsible step."
Trump's action has already begun to wreak havoc in the Middle East. We don't know how far this will escalate, especially as progress continues to actually move the embassy. What we do know is that is the reckless actions of a man who has no regard for international law or conception of what is in the U.S. national interest must be repudiated.
So, where are the Democrats?
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