I truly don’t get why it’s such a big deal to say that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. Isn’t that obviously true?
I understand that UN General Assembly Resolution 181 intended to make the Jerusalem area, including Bethlehem, an international city. But why isn’t anyone today upset that Bethlehem is a Palestinian city?
Don’t all the deals on the table involve splitting up Jerusalem between the Palestinian state and Israel? Does any important country today still seek to turn Jerusalem into an international city? Who today wants that?
I understand that Palestinians want East Jerusalem for their capital. I also understand that the Palestinians claim every inch of territory beyond the “Green Line" for their state. The US wants to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to West Jerusalem, not East Jerusalem and not beyond the Green Line. Why exactly is that a problem?
I understand that we don’t want to pre-judge any of the “final status” issues to be negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians, and that Jerusalem is a final status issue. But then why was it OK last year for the UN to pre-judge the final status issues in UN Security Council Resolution 2334 by declaring Israeli settlements to be illegal? Why is it OK for UNESCO to adopt resolutions that claim Jerusalem is not Jewish?
The only thing I can see that’s consistent in all of these issues is that some people claim Israel and its supporters are always wrong, no matter what facts may be inconsistent with that claim.
I’d really appreciate it if those who understand these issues better than me can try to explain these apparent inconsistencies.