Why Trump Recognizing Jerusalem As The Capital Of Israel Is ‘Just and Right’

The authors of a book detailing the behind-the-scenes story of Donald Trump’s decision to move the United States embassy in Israel to Jerusalem weighed in on what a future Trump administration will mean for U.S.-Israel relations.

In their book, “Because It’s Just and Right,” Farley Weiss and Leonard Grunstein chronicle the story behind one of Trump’s most significant foreign policy moves. Now, as Trump prepares to return to office in January, the two authors offer unique insights about how his second term may further redefine and strengthen U.S.-Israel relations.

“You’re going to be seeing a whole different world, a much more peaceful world now with the Trump administration,” said Weiss.

Weiss and Grunstein both predict that a key priority of the Trump administration will be to expand the Abraham Accords.

“I think you’re going to see many countries become part of the Abraham Accords and you’re going to just see a whole different dynamic,” said Weiss.

He added that the Abraham Accords will be able to broaden because the United States will refocus on countering the Islamic Republic of Iran and their proxies, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.

Grunstein said that he hopes these actions will pave the way for a “Cyrus Accords” agreement — named after Cyrus the Great, who liberated the Jews from captivity and allowed them to return to Israel in 538 B.C. — between Israel and the free people of Iran.

“It’s natural for the free people of Iran to come together. And this new axis of evil that’s developed will be dismembered in effect, and it will usher in a new age of peace and prosperity in the world,” said Grunstein.

Both Grunstein and Weiss believe that more countries will be emboldened to follow Trump’s lead and move their embassies to Jerusalem. So far, Guatemala, Honduras, Kosovo, and Papua New Guinea have made the move. Argentina has indicated that it will follow suit, with some speculation that Hungary is considering the move as well.

Because It’s Just and Right, named from the remarks for former Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), who championed the Jerusalem Embassy Act in 1995. Weiss himself was instrumental in the act’s passage, after being asked by Kyl to serve as an advisor because of his credentials as the president of Young Israel of Phoenix, a prominent synagogue.

The act set a May 31, 1999 deadline for the embassy move. But Presidents Bill Clinton, George Bush, and Barack Obama used a provision in the law allowing them to sign successive six-month waivers to push off the embassy relocation. Trump also pushed the move at first.

The embassy relocation finally occurred after a debate within Trump’s inner circle. At the time, U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Vice President Mike Pence, and others prevailed over opposition from Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, according to Weiss and Grunstein.

Weiss and Grunstein recount the historical case for Jerusalem being Israel’s capital, and make the case that it is a moral action. It details the many policies, actors and political realities that afforded for the change to happen.

Weiss’s and Grunstein’s predictions are predicated on the lessons learned from Trump moving the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem in 2018.

During the first administration, Trump was not surrounded by people entirely convinced of his foreign policy objectives, especially with regard to Israel. This time around, Weiss says Trump will have supporters of a strong U.S.-Israel relationship such as Rep. Elise Stefanik as the U.N. Ambassador, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in his corner — assuming their appointments are confirmed.

“President Trump did not have people ideologically with him in some of his main advisors, the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense Tillerson, Mattis and even his national security advisor,” Weiss said. “Now, everybody is aligned with him and the policies.”