Congratulations to the people of Israel and its leaders who halted the American initiative to establish a consulate for the Palestinian Authority in Jerusalem, however, the struggle over the capital of Israel is far from over.
Reports from the United States, according to which the Biden administration has decided not to press for the establishment of an American consulate for the Palestinians in Jerusalem, are encouraging There are many people and organizations that are to be congratulated for their activity in halting the American program, but above all else, the resolute and spiritually healthy Jewish people deserve commendation for its successful stand in defense of its eternal capital.
The Jewish people stood united and called loudly to the American president: “Do not extend your hand against Jerusalem.” “Do not harm the loyal ally of the United States.” “Do not reward terrorism.” “Do not violate American law and do not violate Israeli law.” Congratulations to the hundreds who stood on the streets of Jerusalem, congratulations to the hundreds of thousands who supported and encouraged, and congratulations to the millions who expressed the historic spirit of the people of the Jewish people and its attachment to Jerusalem.
Indeed the voices reverberated and the struggle began to bear fruit. The success of the struggle is already evident in the determined and clear statement of the prime minister, Naftali Bennett and foreign minister Yair Lapid, and with them leading ministers like Gideon Saar and Zeev Elkin, as well as by current reports that the message has been internalized in Washington and the movement toward the consulate is expected to stop.
In these blessed moments, it is incumbent upon us to remember that the struggle for Jerusalem is not over. The enemy still views Jerusalem as an objective. It aims its poisoned arrows of terrorism first and foremost at it, it focuses the incitement against the Jewish people and the State of Israel around it, and it spearheads its efforts to erode Israeli sovereignty specifically with it. In Jerusalem the enemy seeks to establish facts on the ground, in Jerusalem it seeks to prove authority, in Jerusalem it demeans and tramples every possible sign of Israeli governance, because it is the climax of the struggle between the Jewish people and its enemies.
The struggle for Jerusalem, this is clear to any knowledgeable person, is not a struggle for territory or control. The struggle for Jerusalem is a struggle for the essence and national and spiritual image of the people of Israel throughout the generations. The Arab quest for sovereignty in Jerusalem expresses the ongoing Islamic aspiration to uproot the Jewish people from its essence and historical role, to expel it from its land and to wrest its primacy from it. That is why this struggle cannot be expected to end with one local campaign or another.
It is not in vain that they repeatedly assert that those who sought to promote political initiatives, from the accursed days of Oslo, through Ehud Barak’s attempts at Camp David, and culminating in Ehud Olmert’s Annapolis meetings, have all arrived at the same conclusion: As long as Israel does not surrender and relinquish the “holy basin,” no agreement will be reached. In fact, it has repeatedly become clear that more than the Jewish people protects Jerusalem, Jerusalem protects the Jewish people and prevents it from ripping its land apart and establishing a Palestinian state in its heartland.
In light of these conclusions, it can be assumed with open eyes that the struggle for Jerusalem will not end with the American withdrawal from the idea of the consulate. The Arabs will continue to try and push their demand for control of Jerusalem through every diplomatic and political opening. Against them, it is incumbent upon us to continue to stand with a fervent belief in the righteousness of the way of the Jewish people, to preserve Jerusalem with devotion and without compromise.
This is the time to again raise before the leaders of Israel, even more forcefully, the demand to expand the border of Jerusalem and transform it into a metropolis as has been implemented in many capitals in the world. The surrounding communities, Mevaseret Zion, Maale Adumim, Gush Etzion, and some of the communities of Binyamin must be appended to Jerusalem, in order to establish Greater Jerusalem upon which the sovereign Jerusalem law will be applied.
Even if a move of this kind will not be easy to implement in the current government, it will be an acid test of the government's capabilities and its commitment to the history of the Jewish people. There is a historical consensus between the Right and Left concerning Jerusalem; prime ministers from the Right and the Left have sworn allegiance to it; and in the name of this consensus, the Jerusalem Law that anchors the special status of the Eternal City has been established.
The Greater Jerusalem initiative will constitute a constraint on the waves of terror that are carried out against us again and again. This move will reinforce the status of Jerusalem as the expansive capital of Israel with a clear Jewish demographic majority. In addition, this will lead to a construction boom and further expansion of the city, which is almost impossible within its municipal boundaries today.
Applying the Jerusalem Law to these areas will be a first step, of unparalleled importance, toward a blessed continuation of the application of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria as well.