Parsing President Trump’s Jerusalem Move
President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital has elicited responses ranging from applause to warnings of war. Wilson Center President Jane Harman and Middle East Program Director Aaron David Miller offered two different perspectives on an issue whose ramifications will be felt for years to come.
President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital has elicited responses ranging from applause to warnings of war. Wilson Center President Jane Harman and Middle East Program Director Aaron David Miller offered two different perspectives on an issue whose ramifications will be felt for years to come.
President Trump Was “Right to Push”
Jane Harman on BBC
President Trump “is right to try to push [toward a two-state solution]. Whether he will achieve this, I don’t know.” Speaking to the BBC, Wilson Center President Jane Harman says that President Trump’s Jerusalem move was acting upon longstanding U.S. policy and appears to be part of a developing initiative that includes Saudi support to arrive at a two-state solution.
President Trump’s Jerusalem Gambit
Commentary by Aaron David Miller on CNN
“The peace process appears dead. Why bury it?” Writing in CNN, Wilson Center Vice President and longtime State Department Middle East negotiator Aaron David Miller argues that President Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Israeli capital is “likely to be far more trouble than it’s worth” in the context of efforts to broker a lasting peace and in a wider region seething with volatility.
Contributors
Middle East Program
The Wilson Center’s Middle East Program serves as a crucial resource for the policymaking community and beyond, providing analyses and research that helps inform US foreign policymaking, stimulates public debate, and expands knowledge about issues in the wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Read more
