by WorldTribune Staff, December 13, 2016
President-elect Donald Trump fully intends to follow through on his campaign promise to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a top Trump aide said on Dec. 12.
“That is very big priority for this president-elect, Donald Trump,” Kellyanne Conway told radio host Hugh Hewitt. “He made it very clear during the campaign, and as president-elect, I’ve heard him repeat it several times privately, if not publicly.”
During the campaign, Trump vowed to end a longstanding White House policy to perpetually defer a 1995 Congressional decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital and move the embassy there.
“It is something that our friend Israel, a great friend in the Middle East, would appreciate and something that a lot of Jewish-Americans have expressed their preference for,” Conway said. “It is a great move. It is an easy move to do based on how much he talked about that in the debates and in the soundbites.”
Conway went on to say that Trump’s commitment to Israel would be an integral aspect of his administration’s foreign policy along with the domestic agendas that he emphasized in his campaign.
“People think it’s just marriage, abortion or religious liberties, and of course its about all that, but it’s also about a strong Middle East and about protecting Israel,” she said. “Evangelical Christians always have Israel at the top of their list when you ask what’s most important to them.”
Earlier this month, President Barack Obama renewed a presidential waiver that delayed plans to relocate the embassy for another six months.
Following the lead of every presidential administration over the past 20 years, Obama cited “national security interests” in waiving Congress’s 1995 decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the embassy there.
Moving U.S. embassy to Jerusalem remains a ‘big priority’ for Trump, adviser says added by World Tribune on
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