Case Jerusalem

Jerusalem is a city like no other. The city was founded around 1010 BCE by King David, and it became the capital of the United Kingdom of Israel.

Since the rebirth of the State of Israel and its War of Independence in 1948, Jerusalem has been under continuous threat from attacks by neighboring countries and pressure from parts of the international community.

It is a paradoxical truth that Jerusalem was incorporated into Israel as a result of military attacks initiated by Arab countries, not as a result of Israeli aggression. 

Since the Six-Day War in June 1967, all of Jerusalem has been under Israeli control, and on July 30, 1980 (17 Av 5740), the Knesset passed the Jerusalem Law, officially declaring united Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

On October 23, 1995, the United States Congress adopted the Jerusalem Embassy Act, recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel and calling for Jerusalem to remain an undivided city.

The law allowed the President to invoke a six-month waiver delaying the implementation of the law on national security grounds and to renew the waiver every six months. The waiver was repeatedly renewed by Presidents Clinton, Bush, and Obama. 

President Donald Trump also signed a waiver in June 2017, but on December 6, 2017, he officially recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and ordered preparations for the relocation of the U.S. Embassy, which took place on May 14, 2018, the 70th anniversary of the independence of the State of Israel.

On December 25, 2017, Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales announced that his country would also relocate its embassy to Jerusalem. The move took place on May 16, 2018, two days after the inauguration of the U.S. Embassy.

In addition, several other countries were encouraged by the decisions of Presidents Trump and Morales. Since then, the following countries have relocated their embassies to Jerusalem: Paraguay (2018, later returning to Tel Aviv before moving back to Jerusalem in 2024), Kosovo—a small European country with a Muslim majority—(2021), Honduras (2021), Papua New Guinea (2023), and Fiji (2025).

Argentina, the Czech Republic, Samoa, Serbia, and Somaliland have indicated that their embassies may be relocated to Jerusalem in 2026.

Over the past years, calls for the division of Jerusalem as part of the so-called two-state solution have intensified especially in Europe and the United Nations. Already more than 150 countries have recognized the "State of Palestine", and think that Jerusalem should be its capital. 

Therefore, now is the time to raise a stronger voice and action in support of Israel’s Jewish, eternal and undivided capital.