“Death to America!” “Open the gates of hell!” The international community has issued a calm, measured and diplomatic response to the recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital city. Consistent with their obligations under international law, Islamists have refrained from political violence, and inciting race hatred and genocide.
The UN and EU have responded to outbreaks of jihadi violence by affirming Israel’s right to self-determination and praising the only liberal democracy in the Middle East. One can dream.
In a world set against Israel, it is unfashionable to counter propaganda with basic facts. US President Donald Trump recognised a historical fact and political reality by stating that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. While Trump might have specified Jerusalem west of the 1967 line, the omission could only be viewed as an invitation to violence by those eager to damn Trump or shed Jewish blood.
The head of Hamas, Ismail Haniya, used America’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty to call for an intifada. The President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the region had been thrown into “a ring of fire”.
Read he article by Jennifer Oriel in The Australian (subscription required).