In Canada, Big Brother Is Ready to Raid Your Home and Steal Your Child

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We have not been crying wolf. We have not been exaggerating the danger. The unthinkable is now reality in Canada. And it could be coming to America next.

We Were Warned

In 2012, headlines announced, “Homeschooling families can’t teach homosexual acts sinful in class, says Alberta government.”

As the article explained, “Under Alberta’s new Education Act, homeschoolers and faith-based schools will not be permitted to teach that homosexual acts are sinful as part of their academic program, says the spokesperson for Education Minister Thomas Lukaszuk.”

So, in the privacy of your own home, as you teach and instruct your own children, you would be forbidden by law to teach them what the Bible said about homosexual practice. And how, pray tell, was the government planning to monitor this?

In 2015, Dawn Stefanowicz, herself the child of a gay father who died of AIDS, raised her voice as well. The headline to her article read, “A Warning from Canada: Same-Sex Marriage Erodes Fundamental Rights.”

She wrote:

I want to warn America to expect severe erosion of First Amendment freedoms if the US Supreme Court mandates same-sex marriage. The consequences have played out in Canada for ten years now, and they are truly Orwellian in nature and scope.

In Canada, freedoms of speech, press, religion, and association have suffered greatly due to government pressure. The debate over same-sex marriage that is taking place in the United States could not legally exist in Canada today. Because of legal restrictions on speech, if you say or write anything considered “homophobic” (including, by definition, anything questioning same-sex marriage), you could face discipline, termination of employment, or prosecution by the government.

Canadians Could Lose Their Children

She was not exaggerating. In fact, she may have understated her case. The latest headlines from Canada announce something even more Orwellian: “Canada’s New Law Lets Government Take Children Away If Parents Don’t Accept Their Gender Identity.”

What exactly does this mean?

A Canadian province has passed a law that gives rights to the government to take away children from families that don’t accept their kid’s chosen “gender identity” or “gender expression”.

The Supporting Children, Youth and Families Act of 2017, also know as Bill 89, was passed in Ontario by a vote of 63 to 23, The Christian Times reported.

This is beyond mind-boggling. It might even be beyond Orwellian. Really now, would even Orwell have predicted that the government could seize your 8-year-old boy if you wouldn’t let him dress like a girl or if you refused to affirm his perceived female identity?

For good reason, Jack Fonseca, a political strategist for Campaign Life Coalition, slammed the new bill in no uncertain terms: “With the passage of Bill 89, we’ve entered an era of totalitarian power by the state, such as never witnessed before in Canada’s history. Make no mistake, Bill 89 is a grave threat to Christians and all people of faith who have children, or who hope to grow their family through adoption.”

And it is not just an era of totalitarian power. It is an era of misguided totalitarian power.

Not only is it saying that the government, not the parent, knows best. It is saying that the child, not the parent, knows best. It is saying that it is impossible that little Johnny is confused and that one day, he will outgrow his belief that he is really a girl.

No. If he’s convinced he’s a girl and his parents don’t affirm this, he could presumably tell his teachers at school, who would then report this to the government.

Soon enough, there’s a knock at your door, and government agents are taking your son — yes, your very own child — and putting him in a new environment where he can live as Jane.

As nightmarish as this scenario sounds, it is now the law. And it was passed with ease by a vote of 63 to 23.

Soon enough, Johnny will be taking hormone blockers to stop the onset of puberty, and before you know it, he’ll be a lovely young lady, sex-change surgery and all. And there’s nothing you can do to stop it. Nothing.

Don’t Hit Snooze

There’s a reason that so many of us have been raising our voices so loudly for so many years. It’s not because we hate gays or transgenders. It’s because we foresaw the disastrous consequences of LGBT activism and have been standing as watchmen on the wall, sounding the alarm. I urge you from the bottom of my heart: Please don’t hit the snooze button again.

And please don’t console yourself by saying, “Well, that’s Canada, not America.”

First, are the people of Canada unimportant? Does something matter only if it affects America? Surely you won’t say, “Who cares if Christian families in Canada have their children seized by the government? I’m OK here in America.”

Second, we’ve seen how LGBT activism has become the principle threat to our freedoms of speech, conscience and religion here in the States. Canada is just one step ahead.

Third, already in America, “A federal district court judge just dismissed a mother’s lawsuit, essentially upholding Minnesota’s very harmful and unconstitutional ‘emancipation statute’ that allows minor children — with the aid of outside groups — to leave their families whenever there is conflict, as long as the child is living independently and can support himself or herself.”

In the case at hand, the mother’s minor son had “decided to be treated with hormones in an effort to ‘change’ his biological sex and to change his name.” The mother opposed this, which was one of the reasons the child sought “emancipation.” Now, the government (here in America!) is helping to underwrite his “transition,” and there’s nothing his mother can do to prevent it.

Recently, the flagship gay publication The Advocate, celebrated an 8-year-old drag queen — meaning, a boy who identifies as a boy but who likes to dress up as a girl. (Interestingly, the boy lives in Canada.)

Yes, “Montreal’s newest drag superstar has the poise of someone four times his age.

“A new girl on the Montreal drag scene is making the city’s other queens look geriatric by comparison. That would be Lactatia — a.k.a. Nemis Quinn Mélançon Golden, an 8-year-old who started getting into drag at the ripe old age of 7.”

In this case, the boy’s parents are highly supportive of him (that’s bad enough). But if they weren’t supportive of him, since this is part of his gender expression, the government could remove him from his home.

This madness must be stopped. (For more from the author of “In Canada, Big Brother Is Ready to Raid Your Home and Steal Your Child” please click HERE)

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YouTube Won’t Pull Sermons of Radical Imam Connected to UK Terror

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One of the three Islamic terrorists who committed this weekend’s attacks at London Bridge was reportedly inspired to jihad by watching YouTube videos of Michigan-based Imam Ahmad Musa Jibril.

While the video-sharing titan is known to take an aggressive posture when it comes to banning, suspending, and demonetizing conservative content, YouTube is giving a free pass to a hate preacher who calls for Muslims to join terrorist organizations.

Not only is his own YouTube channel still accessible, Jibril’s sermons have been shared by countless fan pages and have accumulated millions of views.

Moreover, in a U.K. TV documentary called “The Jihadis Next Door,” which was released last year, an acquaintance of one of the future London Bridge terrorists claimed he was radicalized by watching Jibril’s sermons.

The “former friend” elaborated, per The Sun (U.K.):

“He used to listen to a lot of Musa Jibril. I have heard some of this stuff and it’s very radical. I am surprised this stuff is still on YouTube and is easily accessible. I phoned the anti-terror hotline. I spoke to the gentleman. I told him about our conversation and why I think he was radicalised.”

Google, which owns YouTube, told Conservative Review they reviewed Jibril’s sermons and found that they do not violate YouTube’s guidelines on extremist or hateful content:

Our thoughts are with the victims of this shocking attack, and with the families of those caught up in it. We take our role in combatting the spread of extremist material very seriously. YouTube has clear policies prohibiting terrorist recruitment and content intending to incite violence, and we act quickly to remove flagged videos violating these policies. We also terminate accounts run by terrorist organisations or those that repeatedly violate our policies. We’re committed to working in partnership with the government, NGOs and industry colleagues to tackle these complex problems and to see what more we can do to ensure that we’re part of the solution.

In 2005, federal prosecutors said Jibril “encouraged his students to spread Islam by the sword, to wage a holy war” and “to hate and kill non-Muslims.”

A fundamentalist preacher, Jibril’s sermons do not explicitly call for militant action. But similar to deceased al-Qaida leader Anwar al-Awlaki, Jibril’s Islamist ideology provides a gateway to a justification of violence through religious doctrine. Like al-Awlaki, Jibril attempts to propagandize Westerners about the supposed evils of their system of order, pushing potential recruits toward a radical Islamic doctrine that calls for murder and violence.

In a comprehensive report on the Dearborn, Mich.-based imam, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalization found that many of his followers went on to join al-Qaida and the Islamic State terror group.

Although born in the United States, Jibril spent much of his childhood in Saudi Arabia, where he studied Islamic theology. In the late ‘90s, he and his father created the website AlSalafyoon.com, which served as a platform for militant jihadi sermons. Additionally, the imam has run into trouble with the law several times. In 2005, Jibril and his father were convicted on 42 counts of fraud.

YouTube is far from the only social media venue to host Ahmad Musa Jibril’s content. A Facebook fan page for the radical imam has almost a quarter-million followers, and there are several Twitter accounts dedicated to Jibril’s sermons.

Editor’s note: The article and headline have been updated for additional information on Jibril’s ideology and to reflect the statement from Google. (For more from the author of “YouTube Won’t Pull Sermons of Radical Imam Connected to UK Terror” please click HERE)

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Syrian Christians Help Kurds to Liberate ISIS Capital

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Today I received a call which I’ve dreaded. The battle for Raqqa has started. Starting today, thousands of brave fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) will fight from house to house against ISIS: an entrenched enemy that will give away absolutely nothing. Some of my dear friends will be dodging bullets and dismantling IEDs. I can only pray that they make it out alive.

This is an immensely important moment in the war against ISIS. After three years of endless fighting the SDF is about to take the capital of the “Caliphate.” There is no doubt about the final outcome: ISIS will be defeated. For the democratic, pluralist Federation of Northern Syria this is a highly symbolic moment. ISIS made the Federation its prime target.

David Kills Goliath

Nobody back in 2014 could have believed that the Federation would crush ISIS, instead of the other way around. That religious liberty and equality for women would triumph over savagery. That the brave people of Syria would free themselves. But they did. Shouldn’t that give us hope?

The upcoming victory only became possible thanks to a remarkable and unique cooperation of Kurds, Arabs and Syrian Christians. They created the most unusual alliance in the modern Middle East.

This alliance is unique because it is not a simple ‘anti-ISIS’ coalition of convenience. No, in a region where Syrian government authority had vanished, people targeted by ISIS came together. In these extraordinary circumstances these groups created their own government, starting with local and regional councils. They ensured that men and women had equal representation at all levels. They introduced the same freedom of religion as we enjoy in the West — which is rare in the Middle East. Federation residents can choose their own religion, change it, or hold to none at all. They can practice or preach it freely.

These Syrian freedom fighters started out with three small regions and very few weapons. Nobody would have believed back then that this movement would grow into the force that would conquer ISIS: A self-starter army with home-made “tanks” and little or no help from the outside world. But they resisted ISIS in Kobane and in the Khabour Valley against all odds — and won. And now they’re moving into Raqqa to finish off ISIS in its capital. It’s perhaps the most stirring story of self-sacrifice and heroism in our times.

President Trump made the bold move to arm the Kurds in the SDF, reversing the Obama administration policy of dribbling out meager aid, and only to Arab groups. Sadly, the U.S. is still honoring Obama’s decision not to arm the Christians — though they’re a full part of the SDF, and have bravely fought ISIS for years. American Christians should let the White House and Congress know that this policy is unjust and foolish. It leaves Christians uniquely vulnerable and dependent. It tells the rest of the region (where Turkey and Saudi Arabia back Sunni Islamists) that Syrian Christians are friendless and forgotten.

What Happens Next?

To answer this question we need to take a look at a very recent ‘political’ map of Syria. (It’s the main image for this column.) It shows the territory held by every single faction in Syria.

It is pretty obvious that the Assad regime and allies are strongest in the richly populated west of Syria. However their armies are exhausted due to a long, protracted war. All the areas controlled by ‘rebel forces’ are scattered across the west and south of Syria, and small by comparison. Only the rebel areas in the far south (Daraa) and north (Idlib) can receive supplies from the outside. All other rebel enclaves are pockets in regime territory.

A bit of an oddity is the southern desert, which is very sparsely populated. For some time it has been in the hands of U.S.-supported Syrian opposition forces, which have fought against ISIS and also clashed with Assad’s troops. This force is playing an increasingly important role in blocking Iranian influence.

In the desert center of Syria we see ISIS. Also it’s in the east along the Euphrates towards Iraq. However it is clear that they lost a lot of territory to the Federation and a bit to Assad’s regime.

The Federation has expanded its area almost solely at the expense of ISIS. The Federation now is the major force in all of North-East Syria and a large part of the northwest.

The Next Step in Ending ISIS

What will happen after Raqqa? The SDF have made clear that the Deir-Ezzor area east of the Euphrates is the next goal. Only after they liberate that region can we say that ISIS has been defeated in Syria. For the SDF this will be very important, as it will ensure that they will have a very significant role in post-ISIS Syria. Furthermore it will open all supply routes between the Federation and Iraq. Finally it will ensure that Iran will not be able to move freely forces from Teheran to Damascus. This prospect would otherwise become reality: Iranian proxies in Iraq have just reached the Iraqi-Syrian border.

When SDF has expanded the Federation to all of eastern Syria, there will be calm and stability in eastern and northern Syria but a protracted civil war in the west.

The West Can’t End the War

It is highly unlikely that there will be a final solution for the civil war in western Syria any time soon. At this moment there is no sign of any peace deal. The Astana and U.N. Geneva talks have unsurprisingly been mostly window-dressing. The jihadist forces in the north and the rebel forces in the south show no signs of giving up. The Assad regime forces are exhausted and have been bleeding for years now with no end in sight. The victories of Assad in Aleppo and some areas around Damascus are small in comparison to the whole territory that is still in hands of anti-regime forces.

There is a steady movement to a step by step federalization of Syria. And as The Stream has written, that would be the best possible outcome. In western Syria, the highly heterogenous population groups are gradually being homogenized — as anti-Assad people flee his regions, and his supporters flock to them. It’s sad that this is happening thanks to military pressure. In the Federation of Northern Syria, there has been no ethnic cleansing or group removals. It is still a complex mosaic, but one that functions well, with power decentralized and the rights of minorities protected.

The U.S. and the E.U. Can Help Build Peace
What can the U.S. and the E.U. do about Syria? Let’s start with what they can’t do. They cannot change the situation in the western part of the country. That’s because:

They have no allies on the ground to work with.

They won’t go to war with Russia.

The U.S. doesn’t want a repeat of its Iraq occupation in Syria.

Based on these realities the E.U. and the U.S. should focus on cooperation with the Federation of Northern Syria. It should help rebuild (where needed) war-torn towns and facilities. This will bring stability to a very significant part of Syria. Moreover the new culture of freedom that the Federation offers will exert a magnetic attraction. People in neighboring regions will want that for themselves, too. This is how freedom usually grows — organically, from the ground up. That’s how it emerged in the U.S., and in England and Switzerland before it.

And it’s happening now in the Federation. Arab women from strict Muslim towns like Shaddadi are now joining the Federation’s police forces. An increasing number of Kurds are converting to Christianity — as they are free to do in the Federation (or vice versa). Muslims who do the same in Saudi Arabia and many other Muslim countries face the death penalty.

My heart breaks when I think of all the (mostly) young people who will die in liberating Raqqa. But they need not die in vain. The West has the chance to help the Syrian people nurture the seeds of freedom. If it grows, it will change the Middle East. That will change the world. (For more from the author of “Syrian Christians Help Kurds to Liberate ISIS Capital” please click HERE)

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Attacked by Jihadists, They Cling to Faith in the Multi-Cult

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By now I’m sure you’ve read reports of the most recent incident on the Muslim Atrocities Ticker: the vicious jihadist attack in London. This appalling attack has it all:

• Cosseted Islamists long known to the authorities,
• Viciously attacking terrified civilians, while
• Unarmed police run away, and
• Media solemnly warn the public against Islamophobia.

Rinse and repeat, until Britain is remade in the image of Libya or Syria.

Not exactly the spirit of the London Blitz, now is it? Attacks like these, that turn out like this, are what happens to a naturally brave and dogged people, like the British, under the soul-draining influence of a false and toxic religion.

Civilizational AIDS

No, I don’t mean Islam. The jihadi menace in the West is a deadly symptom, but it’s not the cause. It’s an opportunistic infection, like the pneumonia that kills you after your immune system collapses thanks to AIDS.

What is this false religion, this civilizational AIDS? It’s multiculturalism. Cooked up in that promiscuous bathhouse that is the modern university, it serves as a comprehensive replacement for Christian faith, sane politics and even manners. It’s all purpose, like Scientology — but without that creed’s rigorous attachment to the facts.

Posing as an answer to racism and real, irrational xenophobia, multiculturalism in fact is something quite different. It’s a variety of Marxism. But it drops out the proletariat — who have a distressing tendency to vote for things like Brexit and people like Donald Trump. Instead it plugs in as the always righteous and conquering motive force of history …

Just about anyone who’s not a white male, whom one can paint as somehow a victim. That is based not on real experiences of discrimination or bias, but on group identity politics. Hence a black female trust fund student sitting in a Gothic dorm at Yale qualifies as a victim. A white coal miner who lost his job thanks to “climate change” activists (like her) does not.

A wealthy gay couple who taunt a Christian baker by demanding he make their wedding cake: they’re victims. The underfunded baker who follows his conscience and loses his business: he’s not.

Sharia-spouting immigrants living on public assistance in Britain and keeping mum about jihadists or rape-grooming gangs in their midst: they’re victims. The Englishmen whom jihadists terrorize: they’re not.

A Simple Cult for the Sophisticated

Have you got it now? It’s a pretty rudimentary, almost primitive religion. Its crude rites involve only two elements: straw men, and sacred cows. However, because it’s so gnostic and unnatural, its implications are complicated, even grotesque.

Andrew Sullivan cogently laid out the kinky psychology and scrupulous morality of this movement. He noted how it is multiculturalists, not Christians, conducting all the witch-hunts in universities in the West. Christian philosopher Rene Girard called this creed “Victimism.” He wrote in one of his late works that it is the worldview that will “bring on the Apocalypse.”

If you want more, albeit deeply depressing proof that multiculturalism has morphed into a functional religion, here it is: People have started turning to it in their moments of gravest danger. They look to it for comfort, instead of the Christian God. In fact, they cling to it with the fierce faith of martyrs. They defend it with the zeal of glassy-eyed fanatics.

Now and At the Hour of Our Death, Amen

Ben Domenech, editor of the stellar online magazine The Federalist, posted the following on Twitter. Please excuse the redacted profanities. It’s a transcript of what took place in the pub near the jihad attack in London last weekend:

Here’s the actual video footage [WARNING: PROFANITY]

ust think of the powerful faith that must underlie such a response. Put yourself in that patron’s shoes. You’re sitting in a pub in your hometown, having a pint. Then a bunch of foreign-looking people (some of them with foreign accents) attack your fellow citizens. They’re shouting in Arabic. During Ramadan. Not two weeks after Muslims bombed little girls in Manchester, England. You’re face flat on the floor, in desperate fear for your life.

The Blood of the Milquetoast

But you have the presence of mind to rebuke an evildoer. Not the 7th century fanatic who’s menacing your life. No, your fellow Englishman. It is he that has broken a sacred taboo. He has in a blink of an eye turned the victimizer to victim. Now the Muslims who are trying their best to kill you are victims of Islamophobia. And that is worse than jihad. Worse than terrorism. You’ll take a stand against it, perhaps with your dying breath.

If that’s not a religion, I really don’t know what is.

Too bad it’s a suicide cult. (For more from the author of “Attacked by Jihadists, They Cling to Faith in the Multi-Cult” please click HERE)

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London Attacker Featured in Documentary About Britain’s ‘Jihadis Next Door’

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One of the three terrorists behind Saturday’s deadly attack in London reportedly featured in a 2016 documentary about Islamist extremists in the United Kingdom.

Channel 4 documentary “The Jihadis Next Door” follows a group of radicals as they preach for an Islamist revolution in the U.K. The jihadis hold rallies in central London where they vow to make sure the Islamic State flag “will one day fly high over 10 Downing Street,” the prime minister’s residence.

A 27-year-old man known as “Abz” has been identified as one of the terrorists behind the attack in London. He can be seen publicly praying to an Islamist flag in broad daylight in the documentary, according to The Sun.

Police failed to act on at least two reports of Abz’s extremist views. A former friend told BBC that he contacted police about comments the suspect made about previous attacks.

“We spoke about a particular attack that happened and like most radicals he had a justification for anything and everything and that day I 
realized I needed to contact the authorities,” the unnamed former friend told BBC. “I did my bit. I know a lot of other people did their bit, but the authorities did not do their bit.” (Read more from “London Attacker Featured in Documentary About Britain’s ‘Jihadis Next Door'” HERE)

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Russia Probe Counsel Now Has Ex-Trump Campaign Chief in View

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The special counsel investigating possible ties between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Russia’s government has taken over a separate criminal probe involving former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and may expand his inquiry to investigate the roles of the attorney general and deputy attorney general in the firing of FBI Director James Comey, The Associated Press has learned.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told the AP in a separate interview that he would step aside from any oversight of special counsel Robert Mueller if he were to become a subject of Mueller’s investigation.

The Justice Department’s criminal investigation into Manafort predated the 2016 election and the counterintelligence probe that in July began investigating possible collusion between Moscow and associates of Trump. Manafort was forced to resign as Trump campaign chairman in August amid questions over his business dealings years ago in Ukraine. (Read more from “Russia Probe Counsel Now Has Ex-Trump Campaign Chief in View” HERE)

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Pakistan Freezes Accounts of 5,000 Suspected Militants

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Pakistan has frozen the accounts of 5,000 suspected militants, taking about $3 million out of their pockets, but Islamabad could still come under scrutiny at a crucial June meeting of an international watchdog that tracks terror financing.

Analysts and government officials say political foot-dragging and sympathetic supporters throughout Pakistan makes it difficult to cut off the money supply to banned militant groups.

Next month in Spain, the Financial Action Task Force will update its assessment of “high-risk and non-cooperative jurisdictions,” Alexandra Wijmenga-Daniel of the task force’s communications department said in an email. She did not offer any specifics. (Read more from “Pakistan Freezes Accounts of 5,000 Suspected Militants” HERE)

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Sewer Worker Dies After Muslim Doctors Refuse to Treat His ‘Unclean’ Body

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A Pakistani sewer worker died Thursday after doctors refused to treat him due to the fact he was “unclean.”

Irfan Masih, 30, went unconscious while cleaning a manhole in the city of Umerkot. He was taken to the hospital where he suffocated to death in front of doctors who refused to treat him because he was covered in sewer sludge.

“The doctors refused to treat him because they were fasting and said my son was ‘napaak (unclean),’” Irshad Masih, the sewer worker’s mother, told Pakistan’s Express Tribune.

Muslims across the world are currently observing the holy month of Ramadan, which requires them to abstain from eating, drinking and sex during daylight hours, but treating the worker does not appear to fall under these rules. Muslim medical professionals across the world frequently work with patients in all sorts of conditions during the holy month.

Pervez Masih, the victim’s brother, told the Tribune that he had cleaned his brother’s body. The doctors then gave him an oxygen cylinder, but Pervez claimed it was empty. Irfan died before they could get another. (Read more from “Sewer Worker Dies After Muslim Doctors Refuse to Treat His ‘Unclean’ Body” HERE)

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Syria Activists Say Founder of ISIS’ Aamaq Killed in Airstrike

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The founder of the Islamic State group news agency was reportedly killed in an airstrike in eastern Syria, activists and his brother said.

The militant group itself has not reported the death of the founder of Aamaq news agency, Baraa Kadek.

But his brother, Hozaifa, posted on his Facebook that Kadek and his young daughter were killed in an airstrike in Mayadeen town in Deir el-Zour province. (Read more from “Syria Activists Say Founder of ISIS’ Aamaq Killed in Airstrike” HERE)

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Trump Not Moving Our Embassy to Jerusalem — Yet

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I’m not the least bit surprised that President Trump signed the waiver to delay moving our embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, as each of our presidents has done since 1995. I’m disappointed, because he made such a point of this during the campaign, assuring us that he would be the man to make this momentous move. But I’m not surprised.

We’ve had indications that he was waffling on this for several weeks now. Plus, a move like this is easier said than done.

Still, there’s reason for hope in the midst of the disappointment.

Trump is Committed to Israel’s Well-Being

First, as a White House official emphasized, “It’s a question of when, not if.”

Yes, “President Trump made this decision to maximize the chances of successfully negotiating a deal between Israel and the Palestinians, fulfilling his solemn obligation to defend America’s national security interests. But, as he has repeatedly stated his intention to move the embassy, the question is not if that move happens, but only when.”

This is positive. I don’t recall past presidents making this point so emphatically. We will move the embassy, just not yet.

Second, sources indicate that Trump actually yelled at Palestinian President Abbas when they met during the president’s Middle East trip. This led to several minutes of stunned silence on the Palestinian side. “You tricked me in D.C.!”, Trump is reported to have said. “You talked there about your commitment to peace, but the Israelis showed me your involvement in incitement [against Israel].”

This too would indicate that President Trump is striking a very different tone than his predecessors.

Third, there was no indication that the president put heavy pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu when they met, telling him he would have to make major sacrifices, or else. Certainly, there was talk of making concessions for peace. But again, we have no indication that Trump tried to force Netanyahu’s hand on any major issues.

That could explain why Israel’s official response to the announcement that relocating the embassy had been postponed was muted: “Though Israel is disappointed that the embassy will not move at this time, we appreciate today’s expression of President Trump’s friendship to Israel and his commitment to moving the embassy in the future.”

Of course, Israel reiterated that “the American embassy, like the embassies of all countries with whom we have diplomatic relations, should be in Jerusalem, our eternal capital.” But the statement itself expresses only mild disappointment, given Trump’s clear commitment to Israel’s well-being.

Will There Ever be a Good Time to Move the Embassy?

The real problem, however, is this. A White House official explained that, “In timing such a move, [the president] will seek to maximize the chances of successfully negotiating a deal between Israel and the Palestinians.”

Unfortunately, moving the embassy to Jerusalem will always be a point of contention with the Palestinians and the larger Muslim world. As noted in Israel’s statement, “Maintaining embassies outside the capital drives peace further away by helping keep alive the Palestinian fantasy that the Jewish people and the Jewish state have no connection to Jerusalem.”

Why keep this fantasy alive? The Palestinians are totally dependent on America to help broker peace negotiations. And at some point, they will have to accept that our embassy will be in Jerusalem. Why not make the move now, while also affirming to the Palestinians our commitment to work for their best interests as well?

As I (along with others) suggested previously, nothing is stopping us from moving the embassy to West Jerusalem. Even Russia recognizes this as Israel’s capital (while claiming that East Jerusalem should be the capital of a Palestinian state). We can make this move without making a final determination about a Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem. (Obviously, I don’t believe there is any historic Palestinian claim to East Jerusalem. But again, that can be a subject for later talks.)

The Camp David Accords are almost 40 years old (signed in September, 1978). The Oslo Accords are nearly 25 years old (signed September, 1993). Does President Trump really think that by not moving our embassy to Jerusalem now, we will be able to move the peace process forward? And can he really imagine that there will be some magic, opportune time to make the move in the future?

I’m thankful that President Trump is showing himself to be a true friend of Israel. He is holding the Palestinians’ feet to the fire over terrorism and he has reaffirmed his commitment to stand with the Jewish State. I would just urge him once again to do what no other president has done.

Mr. Trump, be the man who made the move.

As I wrote last month, I’ll write again: History will smile on you for it. (For more from the author of “Trump Not Moving Our Embassy to Jerusalem — Yet” please click HERE)

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