Eli Lake, Columnist

Trump's Move Frees Palestinians to Focus on Peace, Not Jerusalem

Straight talk from the U.S. shouldn't be the end of peace talks, but the beginning.

December 6, 2017 at 6:49 PM UTC

Eli Lake is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering national security and foreign policy. He was the senior national security correspondent for the Daily Beast and covered national security and intelligence for the Washington Times, the New York Sun and UPI.

1512585954_GettyImages-841443802 — Photographer: Ahmad Gharabli/AFP/Getty Images

Provide news feedback or report an error

Site feedback:

Take our Survey

A year ago, when Donald Trump's transition team first said they intended to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, I was skeptical. Like most of the foreign policy establishment, not to mention America's Arab and European allies, I thought such a move was too risky.

You will see that argument a lot today. Israel needs U.S. help in strengthening its blossoming relationships with Arab states that were once its foes. Why risk straining those ties with a largely symbolic move?