Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

This coming week the United States of America will officially move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The selected date, May 14, 2018, comes exactly 70 years after the declaration of the establishment of the modern state of Israel with its capital in Jerusalem.

On May 14, 1948, the longing of the Jewish people for the return to Zion, memorialized in its prayers and literature for almost two thousand years, had finally become a reality. Within hours of its nascent existence the country was attacked by all the surrounding Arab nations whose declared intention was to “drive the Jews into the sea.”

The decision by the United States to recognize Jerusalem last December as the legal and eternal capital of Israel, and the follow-up move of the American embassy to Israel’s capital city in the coming days, will open up the path for greater recognition of the Jewish state and its designated capital by nations of the world.

By giving these nations diplomatic cover to follow the courageous lead of the United States they can now recognize Jerusalem as the national capital of Israel and accordingly, relocate their respective embassies to Jerusalem, and just as importantly pursue closer relations with the Jewish state.

Guatemala, one of the first states to recognize Israel after its declaration of nationhood in 1948, has already announced its intention to move its embassy to Jerusalem the day after the American move. Many other states are now contemplating moving their respective embassies there in the not too distant future.

For all of Israel’s modern existence the Arabs of Palestine have rejected the reality of the Jewish State and cling to the fantasy that they can undo this historical fact and dismantle any Jewish presence in the Middle East. This delusion is the single most significant factor why every Israeli concession to the Palestinian Arabs has been rejected and every peace negotiation has failed.

All the blame for the failed peace negotiations and complete rejection of the reality of Israel cannot be placed solely on the shoulders of the Arab world. The majority of the nations of the world, following the leadership of the West (with the exception for the most part of the United States and a few other smaller nations), have encouraged the continued Arab delusion that the return of the Jewish people to their ancestral homeland can be reversed.

They have been able to play out this diplomatic dance mostly under the banner of a hypocritical and corrupt United Nations, who originally embraced Zionism as the legitimate aspiration of the Jewish people, only to later condemn it as racism. They have looked the other way as terrorism against Israel and the Jewish people grew and did not see it as a menace to civilization itself until they themselves became victims of these barbaric acts.

Thankfully, the world view is changing as Israel is recognized as a role model for many young nations as a free and democratic society where human rights and equality are embraced, where Jewish nationalism has created a society that seeks peace and improvement of the lives of not only its own people, but to bring the benefits of their achievements to the world at large.

The American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital sends a clear message to the world that Israel is here to stay, and that it has taken its proper place among the global family of nations. As all the failed wars against the Jewish state in its 70 years of existence have demonstrated, those who continue to oppose Israel’s existence are engaging upon an exercise in futility whose efforts will be relegated to a minor footnote of history.

If you wish to comment or respond to any of the contents herein you can reach me at melpearlman322@gmail.com. Please do so in a rational, thoughtful, respectful and civil manner. If you wish to respond by ranting and raving, please go into your bathroom, lock the door and shout your brains out.

Mel Pearlman has been practicing law in Central Florida for the past 45 years. He has served as president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Orlando; on the District VII Mental Health Board, as Special Prosecutor for the City of Winter Park, Florida; and on the Board of Directors of the Central Florida Research and Development Authority. He was a charter member of the Board of Directors and served as the first Vice President of the Holocaust Memorial Resource and Education Center of Central Florida, as well as its first pro-bono legal counsel.