US recognition of Jerusalem



Hello delegates!

At this point, I am assuming that you have fully read through our topic synopsis and have also turned in your wonderful, amazing position papers addressing both the empowerment of Muslim women and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. First of all, I am super proud of you all! Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to immerse yourself within these topics -- they are not easy subjects to debate upon, and I am extremely impressed by your ongoing dedication and enthusiasm. Now all that's left is to freshen up on BMUN procedure and gather more data through the lens of your assigned country!

To help you out a little before conference, I have decided to discuss a hot topic in ongoing Israeli-Palestinian negotiations -- U.S. recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Why might this be important, how is this relevant to our committee? Funny you should ask!

Our topic synopsis covers the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the lens of environmental degradation, third-class Palestinian citizens, a historical framework, and so on. However, the conflict itself is one of the most well-known discord in modern-day politics, and therefore goes several layers beyond what we discuss within the synopsis. In particular, Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have directly involved world superpowers, such as the United States, as well as regional powers like Saudi Arabia and the GCC region.

U.S. declaration of Jerusalem as Israel's capital has sparked world-wide controversies regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. On December 7th 2018, President Trump announced that the United State would move the embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, therefore marking the U.S's official international support for one side, the state of Israel. Naturally, this has generated a riot of protests on the streets of Israel, particularly Palestinian citizens whom are frustrated by US intervention in their personal affairs.

What do you think of the U.S's recent recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel? Is it harmful to ongoing Israeli-Palestinian negotiations? Or perhaps progressive in that it has incentivized both parties to strive towards political cooperation? How might this impact the one-state/two-state/somewhere in between resolutions? How does this reshape our understanding of the Temple Mount and religious strife?

*Brownie Points* It may be beneficial to mention this subject during your speech in conference if relevant. Though not necessary, it is always helpful to tie in real-world current events to what is debated upon within committee!

To find out more, check out these articles:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/06/world/middleeast/trump-jerusalem-israel-capital.html

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/06/us-recognition-of-jerusalem-as-israel-capital-what-it-means

See you guys soon!
If you are trying to reach me through email, make sure to include BOTH swang@bmun.org and oiclxvii@bmun.org.

-Swang

Comments

  1. QueenCleoFebruary 25, 2019 at 5:57 PM

    In regards to the US endorsement of Jureuselum as the new embassy location, we believe that one of the larger issues is the way that it put a stop to negotiations between the US and the PA. They’d met about 37 times and Trump was planning on meeting with the President of the PA, but the meeting had to be canceled due to the appointment. Regardless of the relevance of the declaration, the mannor in which it shifted diplomatic relations was damaging.
    -Mali

    ReplyDelete

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