Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Paying Lip Service to Jerusalem

On July 30th, 1980, the State of Israel passed the Basic Law: Jerusalem, Capital of Israel, which legislated that,

Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel.

As the State of Israel prepares, this coming year, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the liberation of Jerusalem, consider the following,

Costa Rica opens its embassy in Tel Aviv after closing Jerusalem mission

Costa Rica opened its embassy in Tel Aviv Friday, relocating its diplomatic mission after 24 years in Jerusalem, the foreign minister said in a statement...

Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital, but most nations don't formally recognize that claim. Since 1982, Costa Rica and El Salvador have been the only two countries with embassies there. In August, both countries announced their decisions to relocate to Tel Aviv.

"It's time to rectify a historical error that damages us on the international level and deprives us of any friendship with the Arab world," Arias said at the time.

Israel criticized the decision, saying it could be interpreted as a surrender to terrorism.

Why should anyone, Jew and non-Jew alike, take the State of Israel seriously in their repeated declarations that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel" when the State of Israel doesn't seem to be overly concerned that by the end of 2006 not a single country with whom the State of Israel has diplomatic relations will have their embassies based in Jerusalem?

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