U.S. leader Donald Trump signed the yearly waiver he promised he wouldn’t sign but move the Embasssy from Tel Aviv to the undivided city of Jerusalem. Of course, when dealing with Saudis in a commercial deal of 380bn, someyhing’s got to give.
If Russia recognizes Jerusalem, why can’t other countries do so? | YnetNews – Opinion |
On April 6, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow issued a statement which should have led to extensive Israeli diplomatic efforts all over the world. The sensational part of the announcement is that Russia is the first country in the world to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in an official statement, signed by the president.
Granted, it’s only a recognition of the western part of the city, alongside a statement that the eastern part of the city will be the capital of the Palestinian state when that state is established, but still, the statement as is stands as a significant development, and also a surprising one, in light of the identity of the country making the statement (Russia) and a rare diplomatic opportunity to receive similar recognition from many other countries. In a normal country, the Israeli Foreign Ministry would have turned this statement into a major PR campaign.
How was the statement born? Yaakov Kedmi (Yasha Kazakov), the first aliyah activist who had no family in Israel and received a permit to immigrate from the USSR after a stubborn battle, served in the army (in Ehud Barak’s tank in the October 1973 war) and joined the Nativ Secret Liaison Bureau –the Israeli intelligence agency which worked for the Jews of the Soviet bloc–before becoming its chief.
Kedmi was later accused by the Russian intelligence of operating agents in Moscow. He was declared persona non-grata until December 2015, when the Russian ambassador to Israel called him and informed him that the ban had been lifted. Since then, he has been a welcome guest in Moscow, and a series of conversations I held with him in recent months left me with the impression that he has a lot of appreciation for President Vladimir Putin and for the change he has led in Russia. Today, Kedmi is a regular commentator on Russian television and has an influence in the government corridors. He used his ties in the Russian foreign ministry to lead the Jerusalem recognition move.
Top Israeli Expert Yakov Kedmi: The US Intelligence Agencies Lie (Jan. 2017)
○ Moscow Statement Endorses West Jerusalem As Israeli Capital | RFERL |
○ Russia recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s capital | The Hill |
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