'A Day That Will Live In Infamy': Donald Trump's Recognizing Jerusalem
26 December 2017By Tariq A. Al-Maeena
On December 8, 1941, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed a joint
session of the US Congress, a day after the attack by Japanese warplanes on
the US naval fleet at Pearl Harbor. He described the actions of the previous
day by the Japanese as a "date which will live in infamy". The United States
entered the Second World War soon after that incident.
Almost to the day 76 years later, on December 6, 2017 another US president
engineered a day which will live in infamy in the hearts and minds of all
Palestinians everywhere when he unilaterally decided to move the US embassy
from the Israeli capital of Tel Aviv to the holy city of Jerusalem, a city
long contested by both Palestinians and Israelis and whose final status has
yet to be determined by a world forum.
Perhaps President Donald Trump wilted in the face of a persistent Zionist
buildup of pressure to appease the territorial-hungry Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu whose voracious appetite for Palestinian land has opened
the floodgates of illegal settlements by imported Jews. Hundreds of thousands
of Palestinians have been illegally forced off their land and displaced, their
homes bulldozed, their farms burnt to the ground and for many a bullet in the
back or head. Trump's decision was undoubtedly fueled by his son-in-law and
senior advisor, Jared Kushner, who was recently brought to notice for failing
to disclose to the federal government his position as the co-director of a
foundation that funded an Israeli settlement considered to be illegal under
international law. Mike Pence, the evangelical vice-president, must have also
played a part.
But it is not to the Palestinians alone that December 6 will be a date that
will live in infamy. It is to Arabs, Muslims and freedom-loving people
everywhere around the globe who sympathize with the plight of the Palestinians
who have been undergoing a slow and measured holocaust designed to eliminate
them.
Following the announcement, the Kingdom expressed "great disappointment" over
US President Donald Trump's recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and
relocating the US embassy there. In fact, King Salman himself had publicly
warned Trump days before the announcement that moving the US embassy to
Jerusalem was a "dangerous step" that could rile Muslims worldwide.
The Royal Court said that the Saudi leadership had previously warned Trump of
the serious consequences of such an "irresponsible and unwarranted step and
that "the Kingdom expresses its denunciation and deep regret that the (Trump)
administration has taken this step, as it represents a great bias against the
historic and permanent rights of the Palestinian people in Jerusalem, which
have been affirmed by the relevant international resolutions and have been
recognized and supported by the international community."
The Royal Court added that while Trump's move does not weaken the "inalienable
and preserved rights of the Palestinian people in Jerusalem and other occupied
territories," it does "exemplify a drastic regression in the efforts to move
the peace process forward. This decision is a shift away from the historically
impartial position of the Untied States with regard to the issue of Jerusalem,
which will further complicate the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."
Perhaps Prince Turki Bin Faisal spoke for all of us best when he admonished
Trump recently with a blistering: "Our King, Crown Prince, government and
people condemn your act and our King advised you to retract it. For the sake
of world peace and security, I hope that this time you listen to his advice."
He continued: "No, Mr. Trump. How can you call for calm, moderation and for
the voices of tolerance to prevail over the purveyors of hate when your act is
the balm on which they thrive? It is the sustenance on which they feed. It is
the oxygen which they breathe. Forget whatever sweet words you blandish at us.
Native inhabitants of what is called America have coined the phrase 'White man
speaks with forked tongue'. We have known that phrase since 1917."
Yes indeed, December 6, 2017 is a day that will live in infamy.
The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena
©
EsinIslam.Com
Add Comments