Arabs don't care about Jerusalem

For all its pretension, prestige, and Pulitzers, the New York Times knows less about the Middle East than I do. And the closest I ever came to the Middle East was one night in Fulda.

Its breaking story this weekend was "Tapes Reveal Egyptian Leaders’ Tacit Acceptance of Jerusalem Move."



Anyone paying attention already knew this, but OK, it is nice for the American press to acknowledge this.

Far from stopping the peace process, President Trump's call to move our embassy to Jerusalem is recognition that the Arabs and the Jews no longer are at war. Muslim terrorists still are, of course, but the Arabs are working to rid the world -- or at least Arabia -- of this threat.

Trump wants to move the embassy? Why should the Arabs care?

Israel is not the problem. Terrorists are.

From the New York Times:

As President Trump moved last month to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, an Egyptian intelligence officer quietly placed phone calls to the hosts of several influential talk shows in Egypt.

“Like all our Arab brothers,” Egypt would denounce the decision in public, the officer, Capt. Ashraf al-Kholi, told the hosts.

But strife with Israel was not in Egypt’s national interest, Captain Kholi said. He told the hosts that instead of condemning the decision, they should persuade their viewers to accept it. Palestinians, he suggested, should content themselves with the dreary West Bank town that currently houses the Palestinian Authority, Ramallah.

“How is Jerusalem different from Ramallah, really?” Captain Kholi asked repeatedly in four audio recordings of his telephone calls obtained by The New York Times.

“Exactly that,” agreed one host, Azmi Megahed, who confirmed the authenticity of the recording.

The tape is real. We know this because of what Donald Trump did last May.

He flew Air Force One from Riyahd to Ben Gurion Airport in Lod, Israel.

No one had done that before.

The two nations officially do not recognize one another. It would have been an affront to the Saudis before if after receiving President Trump like a hero Trump flew to Israel in defiance of the Saudis.

He did so with their tacit approval.

Not only that but the Saudis openly embraced and honored Trump's Jewish daughter and son-in-law.

Hello?

The 21st century called asking when the hell is the American press going to arrive.

The cries from the lefties about how moving the embassy ended the peace process were the sound of ignorance. They are stuck in the 1960s.

Since the Yom Kippur War ended in 1973, the Arabs have had no desire to engage in battle with Israel again. Defeat ends the taste for war.

Israel took out Saddam Hussein's nuclear program on June 7, 1981. Did anyone go to war?

In the post-Obama world, the Arabs and Israel are working together, albeit secretly. This may go back to the Bush years. Why? Because neither side can count on the United States as an ally.

Obama ended that trust when he childishly made Bibi Netanyahu wait while he and his family dined.

People saw that and said if an American president can humiliate a long-time ally like that, why should we expect better treatment?

The diplomatic dance here is carefully choreographed, and to its credit, the Times described it well:

King Salman of Saudi Arabia, arguably the most influential Arab state, also publicly denounced Mr. Trump’s decision.

At the same time, though, the kingdom had already quietly signaled its acquiescence or even tacit approval of the Israeli claim to Jerusalem. Days before Mr. Trump’s announcement, the Saudi crown prince, Mohamed bin Salman, privately urged the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, to accept a radically curtailed vision of statehood without a capital in East Jerusalem, according to Palestinian, Arab and European officials who have heard Mr. Abbas’s version of events.

Saudi Arabia publicly disputed those reports.

Publicly.

Here are your winnings, Captain Renault.

Salman has enough problems of his own to worry about for him to care where we put our embassy.

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Please enjoy my two books about the press and how it missed the rise of Donald Trump.

The first was "Trump the Press," which covered his nomination.

The second was "Trump the Establishment," which covered his election.

To order autographed copies, write DonSurber@GMail.com.

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