The Knesset and Congress Will Stage a Joint Event Next Week
A moment many American evangelical Christians have awaited for 50 years may soon happen.
According to a new report from The Jerusalem Post, the Israeli Knesset and U.S. Congress will hold a joint video event next Tuesday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem. The event, according to the report, could signal a “tacit” recognition of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital.
The report states:
Sources told The Jerusalem Post that either President Donald Trump or Vice President Mike Pence will participate in the event on Capitol Hill, alongside Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, its host. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein will take part from the Knesset. All members of Knesset and both houses of Congress have been invited to the event, which was organized by Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer.
While the U..S does not officially recognize Israeli sovereignty in the parts of Jerusalem that Israel liberated in 1967, White House participation in the event could be viewed as tacit acknowledgment of Israel’s position regarding Jerusalem. The event comes after Trump became the first sitting U.S. president to visit the Western Wall during his trip here last week but held back from making any mention of Jerusalem Day, celebrated the day after he left the country.
President Trump has not yet indicated whether or not he intends to sign a presidential waiver to prevent moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. If he does not do it, by the end of the current six-month waiver enacted by President Barack Obama, another provision of the Jerusalem Embassy Act—recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital—will also kick into effect.
During the presidential campaign last year, the president stated several times that Jerusalem is the “eternal capital” of Israel. {eoa}
