(June 22, 2023 / JNS)
While protecting the rights of minorities and indigenous peoples is a priority for most right-thinking, enlightened people around the globe, defending Jewish rights is one topic they’re not particularly interested in.
According to JNS editor-in-chief Jonathan Tobin, the problem is that so much of educated opinion today is actively supporting efforts by Palestinian Arabs and anti-Zionists to erase Jewish history and to deny the rights of Jews to live in their homeland. This effort is at the core of the century-old war Palestinian Arabs and their allies have been waging against Zionism and Israel.
Joining Tobin for the 100th episode of “Top Story” to discuss this war are Farley Weiss and Leonard Grunstein, the authors of a new book about the battle to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem: Because It’s Just Right: The untold backstory of the U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem.
The story of former President Donald Trump’s 2018 decision on Jerusalem has been told in several published memoirs of Trump administration officials. But Weis and Grunstein’s book anchors the discussion in the congressional passage of the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act, which mandated the move but was put off repeatedly by successive presidents, who invoked a security waiver included in the legislation.
The pair also make the case that Jewish rights to Jerusalem are a matter of historical record dating back to the Bible, which discusses what are, in effect, the oldest-known property titles in the world and not just a congressional vote.
Their deep dive into the history of the country and the conflict makes clear that while the Palestinians and American intersectional opponents of Israel try to deny both history and justice, the Jews are without a doubt the indigenous people of the country, and that efforts to deny this truth amount to antisemitism.
Listen/Subscribe to weekly episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Watch new episodes every week by subscribing to the JNS YouTube Channel.
