Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) and Congressman John Rose (R-TN-06) condemned the Biden administration’s decision to reverse a Trump-era policy that coordinated issues with Palestinians within the U.S. Embassy to Israel.
Instead, the new decision would aim to reopen the consulate in Jerusalem as a new “Office of Palestinian Affairs.”
According to the Tennessee lawmakers and Representative Lee Zeldin (R-NY-01), the move may violate federal law known as the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995.
“It is shameful the Biden Administration has opened what amounts to be a separate U.S. diplomatic office to the Palestinians in Israel’s capital. This decision is wholly inconsistent with the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 that Congress passed into law and has repeatedly reaffirmed with overwhelming bipartisan support over the years,” the trio said in a joint statement. “We strongly supported the Trump Administration’s decision to fully and faithfully implement the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 by formally recognizing Jerusalem as the eternal and undivided capital of Israel, by moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and by closing the U.S. Consulate General for the Palestinians in Jerusalem and merging its functions into the U.S. Embassy’s ‘Palestinian Affairs Unit’ within one diplomatic mission under the authority the U.S. Ambassador to Israel. The Biden Administration’s disregard and disdain for that law, however, undermines our nation’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and signals support for dividing Jerusalem.”
“The Biden Administration’s decision is outrageous, wrong, and not how America should treat Israel, one of our closest allies in the world. As sponsors of the Upholding the 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Law Act of 2021 to withhold funding for a U.S. consulate to the Palestinians in Israel’s capital, we unequivocally oppose the Biden Administration’s decision and will use every tool at our disposal to stop it in the 117th Congress and afterwards.” In addition to the three legislators, dozens of members of the House of Representatives and Senate – including David Kustoff (R-TN-08), Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN-03), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) – signed on to the statement.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “John Rose” by John Rose.
