On December 6, 2017, the United States officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel. U.S. president Donald Trump, who signed the presidential proclamation, also ordered the relocation of the American diplomatic mission to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, constituting what is now the Embassy of the United States in Jerusalem, which was established on the grounds of the former Consulate General of the United States in Jerusalem. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the decision and praised the announcement by the Trump administration. On December 8, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson clarified that Trump's statement "did not indicate any final status for Jerusalem" and "was very clear that the final status, including the borders, would be left to the two parties to negotiate and decide" in reference to the recognition's impact on the Israeli–Palestinian peace process.
Trump's decision was rejected by the vast majority of world leaders; the United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting on December 7, where 14 out of 15 members condemned it, but the motion was overturned by U.S. veto power. The United Kingdom, France, Japan, Italy, and Sweden were among the countries who criticized Trump's decision at the meeting. Other countries supported the move; Guatemala affirmed their intent to issue a follow-up on the U.S. recognition and relocate their diplomatic mission to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv, and the Czech Republic, Honduras, Paraguay, and Romania stated that they were also considering the same course of action. Italian politician Federica Mogherini, as the foreign policy chief of the European Union (EU), stated that all EU member countries were united on the issue of Jerusalem—she reaffirmed the EU's firm stance on East Jerusalem being the capital of an independent Palestinian state. By late 2022, only Guatemala, Honduras, and Kosovo had established diplomatic missions to Israel in Jerusalem; Paraguay reversed their 2018 decision within months, and the Honduran foreign ministry has since stated that they are considering a reversal of their decision as well.
The Palestinian Authority stated that the recognition and relocation disqualifies the U.S. from mediating peace talks, while Hamas called for the beginning of a new intifada against Israel in the aftermath of Trump's declaration. Following the U.S. announcement, Palestinians held demonstrations throughout the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and pro-Palestinian demonstrations were held in various countries around the world. By December 25, 2017, Palestinian militants in Gaza had fired almost 30 rockets towards Israel; though almost half of these landed within Gaza, two of them inflicted minor property damage in Israel, near the cities of Ashkelon and Sderot. In the aftermath of the attacks, Hamas reportedly arrested the perpetrating militants in an attempt to prevent an Israeli military response, which never occurred.
On February 23, 2018, the U.S. State Department announced that the new American embassy in Israel was scheduled to open in May of that year. It was officially inaugurated in Jerusalem on May 14, 2018—a date coinciding with Israel's 70th Yom Ha'atzmaut. Representatives from 32 countries were present at the event, including EU members Austria, the Czech Republic, and Romania. Along the Gaza–Israel border, the Israeli military responded to a massive Palestinian protest with tear gas and sniper fire, resulting in the deaths of at least 58 Palestinians and marking the highest single-day death toll since the 2014 Gaza War. The Israeli government defended the military's use of force as having been a necessary measure in the face of the protesters' throwing of rocks and explosives towards the Israelis. Just over a year later, on March 25, 2019, the Trump administration signed in another U.S. presidential proclamation recognizing the Golan Heights as part of Israel.
Background
After the founding of the State of Israel in 1949, the United States recognized the new state, but considered it desirable to establish an international regime for Jerusalem, with its final status resolved through negotiations. The US opposed Israel's declaration of Jerusalem as its capital in 1949 and opposed Jordan's plan to make Jerusalem its second capital announced in 1950. The US also opposed Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem after the 1967 war. The official United States position has been that the future of Jerusalem should be the subject of a negotiated settlement. Subsequent administrations have maintained the position that Jerusalem's future not be the subject of unilateral actions that could prejudice negotiations, such as by moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
During the 1992 presidential election, Bill Clinton promised that his administration would "support Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel" and criticized President George H. W. Bush for having "repeatedly challenged Israel’s sovereignty over a united Jerusalem." However, after the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993, the Clinton administration did not proceed with their plans in order not to disturb the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
In 1995, Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Act, which declared that "Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel." The bill also stated that the American embassy should move to Jerusalem within five years. Backing the legislation was viewed by some as reflecting American domestic politics. Clinton opposed the Jerusalem Embassy Act and signed a waiver every six months delaying the move.
During the 2000 election campaign, George W. Bush criticized Clinton for not moving the embassy as he had promised to do, and said he planned on initiating the process himself as soon as he was elected. However, once he took office, he backed down on his promise.
In 2008, Democratic candidate Barack Obama called Jerusalem the 'capital of Israel'. On June 4, 2008, Obama told the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), in his first foreign policy speech after capturing the Democratic nomination the day before, that "Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided." However, he backtracked almost immediately, saying "Well, obviously, it's going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues. And Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations." The 2012 Democratic National Convention saw a reintroduction of language recognizing Jerusalem as the capital as part of a controversial vote overseen by convention chair Antonio Villaraigosa.
During the 2016 US Presidential election, one of Trump's campaign promises was to move the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, which he described as the "eternal capital of the Jewish people." On June 1, 2017, Trump signed a waiver on the Jerusalem Embassy Act, delaying the move of the US embassy to Jerusalem for another six months, as had every president before him since 1995. The White House stated that this would help them negotiate a deal between Israel and the Palestinians, and that the promised move would come at a later time.
Announcement
On December 6, 2017, President Trump formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and stated that the American embassy would be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In his statement Donald Trump did not mention East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state, but he did say that United States recognition did not resolve the dispute over Jerusalem's borders. President Trump explicitly stated his support for maintaining the status quo of the holy sites within the Old City. Following the announcement, Trump signed the waiver, delaying the move by at least another six months.
Following Trump's announcement, American embassies in Turkey, Jordan, Germany and Britain issued security alerts for Americans traveling or living in those countries. The United States also issues a general warning for Americans abroad about the possibility of violent protests. The American consulate in Jerusalem restricted travel of government employees to Jerusalem's Old City. The US Embassy in Jordan banned employees from leaving the capital and children of embassy employees were told to stay home from school.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson later clarified that the President's statement "did not indicate any final status for Jerusalem" and "was very clear that the final status, including the borders, would be left to the two parties to negotiate and decide." State Department officials said on December 8 that there will not be any immediate practical changes in how the US deals with Jerusalem, including its policy of not listing a country on the passports of citizens born in Jerusalem (a decision changed 3 years later).
When asked what country the Western Wall is in, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said "We're not taking any position on the overall boundaries. We are recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel."
American domestic reactions
Former US ambassadors to Israel
Out of 11 former US ambassadors to Israel, nine were critical of Trump's policy change. Ogden R. Reid who served as an ambassador to Israel from 1959 to 1961 was one of the exceptions, saying, "I think it's the right decision." Edward S. Walker Jr. who served from 1997 to 1999 also supported recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital: "It's really a question of what are the lines, the borders, to be drawn around the state of Israel and the ultimate state of Palestine." Daniel C. Kurtzer noted America's international isolation in his remarks and Richard H. Jones expressed concerns that moving the embassy would fuel further violence. A number of former ambassadors, such as Martin S. Indyk stated that they were open to recognition of West Jerusalem as Israel's capital, provided Israel would agree to slow settlement construction and recognize East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital.
American Christian organizations
American Christian organizations were divided: the National Council of Churches (NCC) which represents 38 different denominations issued a statement saying the change in policy was likely to exacerbate regional conflict and cost lives, while the Liberty Counsel, a right wing evangelical organization, supported the decision. The move had been supported by many conservative American evangelical organizations and leaders including American Christian Leaders for Israel, Jerry Falwell, and Mike Huckabee. Johnnie Moore, one of Trump's evangelical advisers, said the announcement fulfilled a campaign promise to Trump's evangelical voter base. It was also welcomed by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, the founder of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
American Jewish organizations
The majority of prominent American Jewish organizations welcomed the move, including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, which comprises 51 national Jewish organizations, as well as by a number of its member organizations: AIPAC, the Jewish Federations of North America, the American Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Committee, Hadassah, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America and the National Council of Young Israel. The Conservative Movement's US, Israel and global branches also welcomed US recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Orthodox Union, the US' largest umbrella organization representing Orthodox Jews, thanked Trump for "beginning the process of relocating the US Embassy to Jerusalem".
The Anti-Defamation League said recognition was "important and long overdue", while continuing to express support for a two state solution. AIPAC expressed its support for an "undivided Jerusalem" but also said that relocating the American embassy to Jerusalem would not "prejudge the outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process". Morton Klein, who heads the Zionist Organization of America, said that Trump was "finally recognizing the obvious". The Simon Wiesenthal Center said Trump's announcement "will right an historic wrong". The announcement was also welcomed by the Republican Jewish Coalition.
The Reform Jewish movement called it "ill-timed" and said it would "exacerbate the conflict", but also declared that "Jerusalem is the eternal capital of the Jewish people and the State of Israel" and that they "share the President's belief that the US embassy should, at the right time, be moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem". The Jewish Democratic Council of America similarly expressed support for Jerusalem as an undivided capital of Israel, but criticized Trump for neglecting to "meaningfully support peace between Palestinians and Israelis". Left-wing Mideast policy group J Street said the timing was "premature and divisive". J Street, New Israel Fund, and progressive Zionist organization Ameinu expressed concerns that the move would undermine Middle East peace efforts and could lead to violence.
Other American groups
In December 2017, more than 130 Jewish studies scholars from across North America criticized the Trump administration's decision, calling on the U.S. government to take actions to de-escalate the tensions and "clarify Palestinians' legitimate stake in the future of Jerusalem." According to Haaretz, many of these scholars have been critical of the Trump administration and the current Israeli government.
American Muslim civil advocacy groups rejected the policy change, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC). On December 5, Muslim, Interfaith and human rights groups held a protest outside the White House.
Israeli and Palestinian responses
Israel
On December 6, shortly after Trump's statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the announcement was a "historic landmark" and praised the decision as "courageous and just". During his remarks Netanyahu said there is "no peace that doesn't include Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel", adding that Jerusalem has "been the capital of Israel for nearly 70 years". He later said that he has heard condemnation about the announcement but has "not heard any condemnation for the rocket firing against Israel that has come and the awful incitement against us".
The announcement was well received by Knesset members of left, right and center parties including Yesh Atid, Bayit Yehudi, Yisrael Beytenu, and Likud. Isaac Herzog called it an "act of historic justice" but also added that the next step was to "realize the vision of two states". In contrast, Bezalel Smotrich of the religious zionist Bayit Yehudi party issued the following statement: "For 30 years we have fallen into the pit of the Palestinian state as a realistic solution. The time has come to rethink things". Avi Gabbay, the leader the Zionist Union, also supported Trump's announcement, saying that recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital is more important than a peace deal.
Israel's Deputy Education Minister Meir Porush of United Torah Judaism party said building in "parts of Judea and Samaria and Jerusalem that need housing would be better than a declaration that means nothing". Yisrael Eichler, also of UTJ, expressed similar views saying he would "rather have 1,000 homes for young couples in Jerusalem than one American embassy building." In contrast, left-wing party Meretz said recognition of Jerusalem should only come with the establishment of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, adding that Trump's declaration "de facto betrays the Zionist vision and the values on which the State of Israel was established".
Hanin Zoabi and Ayman Odeh, both members of the Arab Joint List party, said the US could no longer act as a peace mediator. Odeh said that "Trump is a pyromaniac and will set the entire region ablaze with his madness".