Posted on 01/12/2017 12:51:08 PM PST by Eleutheria5
Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jLNiUzJfsQ
President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to head the Defense Department, General (ret.) James Mattis told a congressional confirmation committee on Thursday that he believes that Tel Aviv, not Jerusalem, should be considered the capital of Israel.
Mattis, who in the past criticized the Jewish state over “settlements” in Judea and Samaria and warned the country was at risk of turning into an “Apartheid” state, appeared to deviate from the stated policy of the incoming Trump administration, which has indicated it plans to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
When asked Thursday by South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham what he believes Israel’s capital is, Mattis claimed the Israeli government is located in Tel Aviv.
"The capital of Israel that I go to, sir, is Tel Aviv, sir, because that's where all their government people are," Mattis said.
It is unclear whether the retired Marine general simply erred in his response, or was referring to Israel’s military establishment, which is headquartered in the Kirya complex in Tel Aviv.
Israel’s seat of government is in Jerusalem, where the Knesset, Supreme Court, and major ministries are all located.
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(Excerpt) Read more at israelnationalnews.com ...
Asking this question in a committee reviewing the nomination for U.S. Secretary of Defense is like asking a nominee for Secretary of Transportation who owns the moon.
The general knows how to take AND give orders.
Things will change on 1/20.
And guess who got elected? not Mattis.
Beginning to make the term 'fake news' spring to mind.
Determination of a nation's seat of government is not within the remit of the SecDef.
Gen.Mattis was correct by stating that the location currently so designated is the assumption under which he would operate until told differently.
Until Trump officially recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, I’d guess that from the US’s viewpoint, it’s Tel Aviv.
In U.S. history, the closest thing I can think of would be the political and diplomatic measures that we took when Germany was partitioned after World War II and the East Germans claimed Berlin as their capital.
I agree Lindsey’s questions were out of place in a hearing for the Sec.of Defense nominee. Those decisions aren’t in the Pentagon’s area of responsibility. Graham and McCain do seem to want to be hard-nosed and aggressive on every foreign policy issue. Not good when it’s just a default reaction.
But I say move the embassy if it can be put among many government buildings and not be an easy target for terrorists.
No, it's not. The U.S. is a signatory to the Declaration of Principles (1993) and the Interim Agreement (1995) on Palestine (as is Israel), in which the legal status of Jerusalem is specifically left undefined.
There are actually two reasons for the ongoing refusal of U.S. presidents to authorize the relocation under that law:
1. Congress had no authority to mandate such a thing in the first place.
2. The U.S. government has a long-standing policy of keeping U.S. embassies out of disputed areas.
All the territory of Israel is disputed for that matter. There are UN resolutions recognizing Israel and their right to their original territory of 1948, but there are those nations and groups which do not recognize that.
The status of the territory that changed hands after the 1967 war is in dispute, including Jerusalem. I guess each US government has to decide what it’s position on those territories will be. I don’t go along with any notion that everything Israel gained during that war should be returned to the aggressors who set off the war and intended to “drive the Jews into the sea”.
I believe if the executive and the legislative branches of the US government are in agreement (after 1/20/2017) to move the embassy to Jerusalem, then the authority definitely exists to do it.
Well, that sucks.
“I’m taking a wait-n-see approach to Mattis. I don’t completely trust him. Great general though.”
I think Mattis, based on what I’ve seen and heard about him and from him, is basically a moderate Dem, or a very moderate Pub, at best, politically speaking. Just as long as he is a good warrior, that’s okay. Remember, Flynn is in the mix too, and he’s no Obama/Clinton lover for sure.
If you'd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.
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His positions on Israel are well known. Lindsay Graham was baiting him to get his positions on record. Which is fine. I say baiting because these are not decisions of the Secretary of Defense, though he's certainly obligated to voice his opinions to the President in context. From the article
"Sir, right now I stick with the US policy," said Mattis, without elaborating further.When asked by Graham whether he would “support moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” Mattis answered merely that he would leave the decision to the State Department.
"I would defer to the nominee of Secretary of State on that, sir."
The proper response. If the President instructs the Secretary of State to move our Embassy to Jerusalem, that doesn't appear to be a problem for General Mattis.
He's known as an active reader of history, but he missed the middle east. David ben Gurion declared Jerusalem of Israel on December 5, 1949. Yes, while the fighting was going on, I believe there was a temporary truce in effect at the time, about a week before armistice talks began, and nearly three weeks before the Knesset met and elected Ben Gurion Prime Minister. An official bill was passed by the Knesset in January, 1950.
Yes, the UN said that's no fair, Jerusalem should be governed by the UN. The US and most countries recognized Israel with no mention of the capital. As one would expect.
What other countries we recognize have capitals we don't recognize? So far as I know, we recognize the country and that's about it, the capital is a local option, as it should be. And we can build our Embassy where we like, or not build one at all
As to his remark that it's the capital because that's where he goes to meet with Israel's military, he knows better. Israel's military headquarters are in Tel Aviv, the government is in Jerusalem. Mattis knows that. I refuse to believe Arlington VA is the capital of the US because the Pentagon is there, I doubt the General believes that either.
It's a "conflict" over nothing.
Yes.
“Senator Graham pressed Mattis further...”.
This is AFTER he denied Israel the right to pick its own capital. Graham, who is wrong on everything else, is a supporter of Israel, and he gave Mattis the opportunity to retract his statement, which is contrary to the Trump approach. Instead he gave a “carefully crafted” answer.
The key word is “further”. This pressing occurred after he already stuck it t Israel.
Those things are in Jerusalem.
Yes, Jerusalem.
You are obviously going to believe anything you want to believe. He gave very carefully crafted answers. I see the subtlety, you don’t
Of coarse you realize if he stood up and said he was willing to fight for Israels right to do anything he would never be confirmed and you’d end up with someone like Kerry.
But like I said, believe whatever makes you happy
Whenever people say “of course” or “obviously” it means that they don’t have the facts to support it. Do you really think that the Senate would not approve the appointment of a Secretary of Defense who supported Israel’s right to reinforce Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria? I think the Republicans would cheer, and they have the votes.
One hundred senators and congressmen just signed a letter asking President Trump to move the US embassy to Israel’s *capital* Jerusalem as soon as possible.
Israel is not looking for the US to fight Israel’s battles. Israel does not want the US to give billions of dollars to Iran, which has sworn to attack Israel, look the other way while Iran builds up its nuclear capacity, and tacitly approve Iran’s arming of terrorists who attack Israel (as well as other places). Israel does not want to be sacrificed like Czechoslovakia was in 1939, by a misguided Defense Secretary who believes that our relationship with Dubai or Saudi Arabia or Yemen or Kuwait would be great if only Israel forced its citizens to abandon their homes in Judea and Samaria, and agreed to creation of a terrorist state instead.
The Trump Admijistration never would nominate a John Kerry-type as Defense Secretary. I don’t know where that comes from.
Ani no, this doesn’t make me happy that Mattis believes as he does sour Israel. Probably he can be held in check. But pretending it doesn’t exist is not healthy. Fantasies are for children and Democrats.
Honest question, even if we accept the hogwash that Israel had no right to annex East Jerusalem, why in the everloving (bleep) should that preclude undisputed (except by jihadists) Israeli West Jerusalem from being the capital?
Hmm? Makes no sense.
You don’t get to tell other countries what their GD capital is.
Amen!
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