During a special emergency session on Thursday, the U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution calling for the revocation of President Donald Trump’s decision to declare Jerusalem the capital of Israel.
Yemen’s Ambassador Khaled Hussein Mohamed Alyemany introduced the U.N. resolution. Alyemany is part of a bloc of Middle-Eastern officials that condemned Trump’s announcement on December 6, which also included plans that the United States would move their headquarters from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Prior to the vote, UN ambassador Nikki Haley voiced opposition of the resolution and Trump threatened to pull aid from countries that voted against his decision. After the vote, Haley sent invitations to a “friendship to the United States” party for the 64 countries that opposed the resolution, abstained or were absent.
The passage of the resolution, is alleged to be the second that the Trump regime attempts to thwart. In early December, President Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, testified that Jared Kushner, son-in-law to POTUS, instructed him to intervene on U.N. business.
According to Flynn, Kushner directed him to contact Russian Ambassadors regarding a UN Security Council resolution on Israel during the last days of Obama’s presidency.
In testimony, Flynn says that Kushner, who led the Trump transition team at the time, requested Flynn to talk to a Russian ambassador about delaying or thwarting the resolution, which condemned Israel for building settlements in Palestinian territory.
To conduct affairs as Administration before entering office is a violation of the Logan Act, legislation passed in 1799 law that bars private citizens from interfering in diplomatic affairs. Currently, Flynn is cooperating with officials in a special counsel to see if Trump was complicit in allowing Russia to tamper with the 2016 presidential elections.
Israeli Bedfellows
Kushner’s ties to Israel are deep and personal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spent time a Jewish school bank-rolled by Kushner’s father. As well, Kushner’s grandparents narrowly escaped Nazi camps, and his family has real estate in Israel. Some of the real estate is said to have been built in West Bank territory designated for Palestinians—which is considered illegal in the agreement terms between Israel and Palestine.
For generations, Jerusalem has been a site of contention between three major religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Serving as sacred ground, today, it is disputed territory between Israelis and Palestinians.
With Trump’s decision to formally recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s, he intervened on negotiations between Israel and Palestine. On the matter, Iraqi prime minister said, “Jerusalem is the title of coexistence between all religions and nations, and no country has the right to legitimize the occupation, go beyond the UN resolutions and affect the legitimate rights of Palestine.”
Since Trump’s declaration, Palestinians marched in the street to demonstrate Trump’s declaration and Jewish control. Protests resulted in bloody clashes with Israeli police and military, causing more tensions in an already unstable region of the world.
While Netanyahu approves Trump’s backing, the formal recognition positions the United States and Israel in opposition of other nations. This alliance, in the future, might have deep political consequences.
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