Israel “will be eternally grateful for President Trump’s bold decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to move the embassy there,” declared Netanyahu.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday attended a ceremony at the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem welcoming the US delegation that arrived in Israel for Monday’s opening of the US Embassy in Jerusalem.
Netanyahu gave US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman a letter of appreciation in gratitude for his efforts to move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Addressing the crowd, which included US Secretary of Treasury Steven Mnuchin, senior adviser to the president Jared Kushner and his wife Ivanka, Middle East envoy Jason Greenblatt, and US Sens. Ted Cruz and Lindsay Graham, Netanyahu stated that “this is a momentous time. President Trump is making history.”
Israel is “deeply grateful and our people will be eternally grateful for his bold decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to move the embassy there tomorrow,” Netanyahu said of Trump.
Netanyahu further stated that Trump’s decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem “affirms a great and simple truth: Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for the past three thousand years. It’s been the capital of our state for the past 70 years. It will remain our capital for all time.”
Making the Israel-US Alliance Stronger Than Ever
“Thank you President Trump for your bold decision, thank you for making the alliance between Israel and the United States stronger than ever,” Netanyahu declared.
Praising Guatemala and Paraguay for following Trump’s lead and moving their embassy to Jerusalem, Netanyahu called on all countries to join the US in moving their embassies to Jerusalem.
“Move your embassies to Jerusalem because it’s the right thing to do. Move your embassies to Jerusalem because it advances peace, and that’s because you can’t base peace on a foundation of lies,” Netanyahu stated.
“You base peace on the foundations of truth, and the truth is that not only has Jerusalem been the capital of the Jewish people for millennia and the capital of our state from its inception, the truth is that under any peace agreement you could possibly imagine, Jerusalem will remain Israel’s capital,” he affirmed.
Trump enunciated this” simple, basic truth,” Netanyahu said, “and once enunciated, that truth will propagate.”
Addressing the 250-member US delegation, Netanyahu said “we value all of your friendships, all of you for coming here on this historic occasion. Thank you for standing up with Israel. Thank you for standing up for the truth. Thank you for standing up for Jerusalem. Thank you for coming here from all over the world.”
