On Wednesday, December 6, President Trump announced his plan to move the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, as well as recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. In response, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, met the choice with open arms, taking the chance to urge other world leaders to follow in Trump’s footsteps.

  This decision reverses nearly seventy years of foreign policy. The US, and almost every other country in the world, has refused to acknowledge Jerusalem as the capital of Israel until there was a resolution with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Past US presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama all signed waivers every six months that prevented the movement of the embassy.

  President Trump is receiving a lot of criticism about his decision from not only Arab and European leaders, but also Pope Francis and the Chinese foreign ministry, who warn that this choice may cause a huge wave of violence in the region. The top diplomat from the EU also stated that Europe saw this choice as a direct threat to peace in the Middle East. The President defended his actions by saying that the twenty years of waivers did not advance attempts to make peace in this region, so why keep signing them?