Jerusalem
* Your article on the passage of the legislation to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem calls for correction (Oct. 26). The legislation is not a “conservative” or “liberal” issue but rather one that has long garnered overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress and one which has been backed by the American people, the pro-Israel community and the Israeli government.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has worked with Congress on over 30 legislative initiatives over four decades to change official U.S. policy to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. The late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, in a private meeting with Sen. Bob Dole prior to the introduction of the legislation in May, 1995, has been quoted as saying, “We welcome all embassies that move to Jerusalem.” “Does that include the American Embassy?” Dole asked. “Yes,” he replied.
Moreover, then-Deputy Foreign Minister Yossi Beilin, a key architect of the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, said he welcomed the legislation, which, he added, would not wreck the peace process.
By changing U.S. policy toward Jerusalem, the new legislation, which passed overwhelmingly in both houses of Congress, finally rectifies a half-century wrong.
NEAL SHER
Executive Director, AIPAC
Washington
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