The State Department's Jerusalem Syndrome

Townhall.com ^ | March 31, 2012 | Caroline Glick

[Kaslin]

I went to the US Consulate this week to take care of certain family business. It was a thoroughly unpleasant experience. I think it is ironic that two days after my extremely unpleasant experience at the consulate, State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland refused to say what the capital of Israel is. It was ironic because anyone who visits the consulate knows that the US's position on Jerusalem is in perfect alignment with that of Israel's worst enemies.

Last time I went to the consulate was in 2007. At that time the building was located in the middle of an Arab neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem. It was unpleasant. In fact it was fairly frightening. Once inside the building I couldn't shake the feeling that the Americans had gone out of their way to make Israeli-American Jews feel uncomfortable and vaguely threatened.

But then, I was able to console myself with the thought that the US has been upfront about its rejection of Israel's right to assert its sovereignty over eastern Jerusalem. By treating Jews as foreigners in their capital city and behaving as though it belongs to the Arabs by among other things hiring only Arabs as local employees, the US officials on site were simply implementing a known US policy. True, I deeply oppose the policy, but no one was asking me, and no one was hiding anything from me.

The new consulate is much different, and much worse. The State Department opened its new consulate in Jerusalem in October 2010. It is located in the Jewish neighborhood of Arnona. It was built on the plot that Israel allocated for the US Embassy after Congress passed Jerusalem Embassy Act in 1995 requiring the US government to move its embassy to Jerusalem. I read that construction began in 2004. I haven't been able to find out whether when construction began it was to build the embassy or a new consulate so I don't know yet whether the Bush administration thought it was building an embassy that the Obama administration turned into a consulate or if the Bush administration thought it was building a consulate that the Obama administration completed.

Whatever the case, the fact that the building that was supposed to be an expression of US recognition of Israel's capital in Jerusalem is being used as the consulate is an unvarnished act of aggression against Israel and Congress.

If I am not mistaken, the US Consulate General in Jerusalem is the only US consulate in the world that is not subordinate to the embassy in the country where it is located. When it was located in a hostile Arab neighborhood in eastern Jerusalem, the fact that it was not subordinate to the US Embassy in Tel Aviv was upsetting. But it was also easily justified in light of US policy of not recognizing Israeli sovereignty in eastern, southern and northern Jerusalem.

But Arnona is in western Jerusalem. It is a Jewish neighborhood that even the most radical Israeli leftists don't envision transferring to the Palestinians in any peace deal. Putting the consulate in Arnona - and on the site reserved for the embassy no less - is the clearest expression of American rejection of all Israeli sovereign rights to Jerusalem imaginable. And the fact that it is located in the heart of a Jewish neighborhood is far from the only problem with the building.

Israelis who live in Jerusalem and need US consular services are required to go to the consulate in Jerusalem. You can't just go to Tel Aviv to avoid the unpleasantness. This again is due to the fact that the US does not recognize ANY Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem. From the State Department's perspective, people who live in Jerusalem -- even in Arnona and Rehavia and Ein Kerem etc. -- live in a DIFFERENT COUNTRY from people who live in Tel Aviv and Netanya. We can no more receive services from the embassy in Tel Aviv than we can receive services from the embassy in Amman.

I will be writing more about the US's adversarial treatment of Israel as embodied in its treatment of Jerusalem in next week's Jerusalem Post column. But suffice it to say here that Victoria Nuland's statement to AP reporter Matt Lee, (posted below in case you missed it), is a true depiction of America's policy on Jerusalem - and though it, on Israel.

It would be useful for someone to get Mitt Romney on record discussing his position on Jerusalem. Assuming that he says - like every other Republican presidential candidate - that he supports transferring the US embassy to Jerusalem, he should further be asked to explain how, if he is elected president, he will force the State Department to change its policies towards Israel and respect US law by treating Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

[Hans]

Be careful of the State Department or any creature under the control of the Democrats. They were horrible 35 years ago - now they are evil.

[Pat4ever]

Excellent, thought-provoking article.

[LibLieSlayer]

I have to stand with GOD and Israel on Jerusalem... our government is corrupt and evil and we must change that in the coming election. We cannot embrace evil... no matter whether it has an “R” or a “d” beside its name.

LLS

[PAR35]

So she whines when it’s in an Arab neighborhood, then whines when it’s moved to a Jewish neighborhood. Time to tune her out.

[W. W. SMITH]

The state department needs cleaning of the same extent as the EPA. I am of the opinion that a large percent of state department employees suffer from a form of Stockholm syndrome where they identify more with a foreign nation than with the United States. Such, about 80%, should be transferred or fired.

[Calvin Locke]

I'd like to see Foggy Bottom be mandated by law to put out yearly reports on its former employees' book deals, along with sales reports.

I'd bet you'd see an abnormally high percentage, more than 99%, of sales to foreign governments or agents.

[kindred]

The whole federal government is infested with liberal wild eyed communists who hate America and the states need to do the right thing, band together and strip the federal government of the unconstitutional powers and agencies they have stolen from the states and reduce the size of the federal bureauracracy by some 90% or more.

[Alberta's Child]

LOL -- good point.

At some point she ought to realize that most Americans don't give a damn where their foreign embassies are located.

[Jumper]

The not so secret, dirty little secret, kept by the US Dept of State is that American Consulate in Jerusalem is actually Palestine's EMBASSY. nEARLY every single Foreign Service Nation/Local National employee is from the Palestine Authority's area - and Jews do not normally conduct business there, but rather make the one hour trip go American Embassy for Israel in Tel Aviv. Numerous US Administrations have prevented Israel from having the US Embassy moved to Jerusalem, and the future site will most likely be adjacent to the more affulent neighborhoods just a short distance from the major shopping mall/marina just outside Tel Aviv, not J-rue.

[Carl Vehse]

6: "The state department needs cleaning of the same extent as the EPA."

The state department needs cleaning of the same extent as the Nuremberg trials after WWII.

[kabar]

The author is confused. The State Department is implementing the foreign policy of the President of the United States. This policy has been consistent for decades over the status of Jerusalem.

For political purposes, Congress has been passing legislation to move our embassy to Jerusalem knowing full well that it won't happen. The President always invokes the waiver--it doesn't matter which party controls the WH.

There are only a handful of countries that have their embassies in Jerusalem. Until the status of Jerusalem is determined, we will continue to have this kabuki dance between Congress and the WH about moving our Embassy to Jerusalem.

[richardtavor]

been there,done that. state department employees steal their salaries..I would rather have gang members in charge.