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What Would the U.S. Gain from Moving Its Embassy to Jerusalem?
(Washington Post) Robert Satloff - Moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv would correct a historic injustice. Washington has never recognized a single inch of Jerusalem as legitimately part of Israel, not even "West Jerusalem," which Israel has controlled for nearly seven decades, nor the rest of the city which it has controlled for nearly 50 years. None of this has stopped five U.S. presidents from visiting Jerusalem and conducting official business there. Moving the embassy is also about restoring balance to U.S. policy. While the U.S. consulate general in Jerusalem has, since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, served as the de facto representative of the U.S. government to the Palestinian Authority, Washington lacks any formal presence in the capital of its main democratic ally in the Middle East. Thus, actual U.S. policy tilts toward the Palestinians. The writer is executive director of The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.