“Truth slips farther away” would have been a better headline for The Baltimore Sun’s recent editorial denouncing the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem (“Embassy move has damaged peace process,” May 14).
According to The Sun, the death of Gaza "protesters" evidences that the move accomplished nothing other than angering Palestinians. Far from mere protesters, the Gazans violently attacking Israel's border seek to further Hamas’ openly proclaimed goal of completely destroying the Jewish State. Hamas’ policy of immiserating its own people and terrorizing Israel long preceded the embassy move and is unlikely to be affected by where the embassy is located.
As for other Palestinians and their allies, while the embassy move has provoked anger, so did the establishment of Israel in 1948 and Israel’s victories in 1967 and 1973, and so does Israel’s current status as a multi-ethnic, scientifically advanced, economically successful, robust democracy. What all these events have in common is that they have strengthened Israel’s future and legitimized Israel’s presence in the Middle East, which are always guaranteed to infuriate Israel’s adversaries.
Contrary to The Sun, there is an answer to its rhetorical question, “What has moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem wrought?” The U.S. embassy’s presence on a plot of land that has been Israeli territory since 1949, in a city that has been the focus of Jewish prayers and longing for 2,000 years, and in a city whose religious sites have been protected by Israel and made accessible to people of all faiths, has wrought a victory for the truth, fairness and justice. In a region where those values are in short supply, this is a positive accomplishment.
Jay Bernstein, Baltimore