Clare Lopez in Israel: Jerusalem Welcomes US Embassy

The streets of Jerusalem, Israel are festooned with American and Israeli flags, flying side-by-side on flagpoles and lamp posts. Along with them are big posters hailing U.S. President Donald Trump as a ‘Friend of Zion’.

Just below where the new U.S. Embassy will be officially inaugurated on Monday 14 May, 2018, is a huge American flag displayed in red, white, and blue flowers.

The excitement and anticipation of Jerusalem Day on Sunday 13 May to celebrate the modern State of Israel’s 70th anniversary, as well as U.S. President Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, is palpable.

The grand celebration takes place against the backdrop of dramatic events over the last couple weeks. First, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the seizure of the archives of the Iranian clandestine nuclear weapons program, spirited out of Tehran in January 2017 under the very nose of the hapless Iranian regime. Then, President Trump announced the withdrawal of the U.S. from the July 2015 Iran nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA). And after Iranian Qods Forces launched a missile attack against Israeli forces on the Golan Heights that very night, the Israeli Defense Forces retaliated with an overwhelming show of force that obliterated most of Iran’s military intelligence, logistics, and other sites in Syria.

It is against this backdrop that America and Israel are set to celebrate the reaffirmation of a friendship dating back 70 years, a friendship that secures the front lines of liberal Western democracy in a region all too often chaotic and hostile.

For the coming days, however, the focus will be on the enduring bond that unites our two countries in celebration of life and liberty.