by Chaim Silberstein and Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, Esq.
President-elect Donald Trump’s first term was noted for its remarkable accomplishments in stabilizing the Middle East, strengthening Israel’s strategic position, and especially embracing creative thinking and policies that transformed the reality on the ground. Decisions such as recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the American embassy to Jerusalem paved the way to the historic breakthrough of the Abraham Accords. All this was achieved largely to the consternation and even dismay of the foreign policy establishment, whose reassertion of traditional diplomacy in the last four years has contributed to the outbreak of violence in this region and other parts of the world.
The proposed nominees for the critical positions that will determine US foreign policy in the coming four years have gratified supporters of Israel. Marco Rubio, Mike Walz, Mike Huckabee and others have been steadfast supporters of a strong Israel that is a genuine friend and trusted ally of the United States. While the plate of any new administration is full, and the most pressing matters in Israel today concern the need for decisive defeats of Hamas and Hezbollah and the return of all Israeli hostages, there are several items worthy of the new administration’s agenda that can solidify the advances made in the first Trump administration and further promote peace and security in the region.
These proposals focus on securing the future of Jerusalem. It should be lost on no one that Hamas called its invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, the “Al-Aksa Flood,” as it and all Israel’s enemies perceive the conquest of Jerusalem as the ultimate objective. What can be done to reinforce Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem? There are five proposals, some merely restoration of Trump policy in his first term, others a blueprint for preserving Jerusalem into the future.
First, shutter (again) the US Office of Palestinian Affairs (OPA) in Jerusalem. The OPA functions in violation of American, Israeli, and international law as a quasi-diplomatic mission in the heart of Israel’s capital that deals exclusively with the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian residents of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. It reports not to the US Embassy in Jerusalem but directly to the State Department. This mission was closed by President Trump after the embassy was moved to Jerusalem but was reopened by President Biden shortly after he assumed office in 2021 notwithstanding Israel’s objection and denial of recognition.
The OPA encroaches on Israel’s sovereignty and, by bypassing the serving US ambassador to Israel, undermines his effectiveness and the integrity of his mission. As was demonstrated during the first Trump term, handling Palestinian affairs from the US Embassy in Jerusalem is efficient, proper, and comports with international law and diplomatic norms. The OPA should be closed and its activities subsumed by the Embassy.
Second, restore “Jerusalem, Israel,” as an official place of birth on American passports. For decades, American citizens living in Israel whose children were born in Jerusalem could not register their child’s place of birth as “Jerusalem, Israel,” due to the State Department’s claim that Jerusalem’s status as part of Israel was disputed. The place of birth was simply recorded as “Jerusalem.”
The US Embassy website in Israel notes: “Applicants born in Jerusalem are able to request either “Jerusalem” or “Israel” as their place of birth (POB) on U.S. passports …. If you write “Jerusalem, Israel” as the POB on the passport, consular staff will ask you whether you prefer the U.S. passport to be printed with a POB of either “Jerusalem” or “Israel.”
This, too, purports to undermine Israeli sovereignty in Jerusalem and contradicts the spirit of the US recognition of Jerusalem’s as Israel’s capital city. This policy should be repudiated, and US citizens who so desire should be allowed to have their place of birth recorded as “Jerusalem, Israel.”
Third, President Trump should immediately defund UNRWA, as he did in his first term. UNRWA has long outlived its usefulness – it is the only refugee relief organization that seeks to perpetuate refugee status among its beneficiaries – and has been justly accused of being part of the Hamas terror network. Some UNRWA staff members participated in the atrocities of October 7, 2023, and many UNRWA facilities in Gaza harbored terrorists and concealed terror infrastructure. An Israeli court ordered UNRWA’s eviction from its facility in Jerusalem which UNRWA illegally occupied. The United States should support that eviction, halt (again) its funding of UNRWA, and urge the disbandment of the organization and the reassignment of its duties to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.
Fourth, support the construction of new Jewish neighborhoods within the existing municipal boundaries of Jerusalem especially in the eastern section. The physical footprint of Jerusalem needs to grow in order to accommodate a growing population. There are several areas in Jerusalem’s environs that are available for Jewish residence and the development of new neighborhoods. Examples are Givat Hamatos to the east, Givat Hashaked to the south, and Atarot to the north. There are thousands of dunams available for development that can create housing for hundreds of thousands of new residents.
All these neighborhoods are within Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries. Given the housing crisis in Israel, it is wrong that they remain vacant and undeveloped. President-elect Trump, a real estate maven, can take the lead in supporting these plans and enabling Israel to fulfill its vision for Jerusalem.
Fifth, support Israel’s consideration of the Greater Jerusalem Metropolis Plan. Jerusalem is today’s Israel’s most populous city, and urban and economic expansion are a national priority to ensure the capital’s economic, political and demographic security.
Today Jerusalem is geographically trapped with expansion options limited – Ramallah is to the north, Bethlehem is to the south, there is a ‘green’ ecosystem to the west. So far, the options are to expand vertically in existing expensive neighborhoods. That does not solve the severe problem of lack of affordable housing. Increasing the supply through expanding the municipal borders and establishing large new neighborhoods would significantly reduce prices and, together with increasing job opportunities, help reverse the negative immigration from Jerusalem. Over the past 30 years, over 400,000 Jews have left Jerusalem because of lack of affordable housing and job opportunities.
Incorporating the satellite cities surrounding Jerusalem will be a benefit for all the residents in both areas. It will free up hundreds of thousands of dunams for development of residential, commercial, tourism and leisure industries. Today Jews constitute approximately 60% of the population. Expanding the municipal borders will also contribute to securing its Jewish majority by adding over 200,000 residents to the city. The Greater Jerusalem proposal would include the city of Maalei Adumim to the east of Jerusalem and Gush Etzion to the south, Givat Zeev to the north and possibly also Mevaseret Zion to the west.
Note that none of the proposals displace even one Arab and essentially just redraw Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries in a way that bolsters Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. Expanding Jerusalem’s municipal boundaries need not impede the final status negotiations that have been a goal of American diplomacy for decades. Similarly, the mere prospect of future negotiations should not leave Jerusalem in permanent limbo unable to develop and flourish because of the veto power over negotiations exercised by Israel’s enemies. This logjam can be broken by creative diplomacy and a diplomatic green light by the US to Israel to pursue the expansion of Jerusalem.
These proposals will be to the immense benefit of all the residents of Jerusalem, Jews, Muslims and Christians and ensure Jerusalem remains the eternal capital of Israel and the Jewish people with a free, secure and flourishing future.
The implementation of these proposals would be a natural continuation of the policies of the first Trump administration and secure his historic legacy of support for the State of Israel and transformation of the Middle East.
Chaim Silberstein is founder and president of the Jerusalem Center for Applied Policy, where Rabbi Steven Pruzansky, Esq, serves as Senior Research Associate.
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