Jerusalem-Israel's Capitol

The United States in 1947 was the first country to recognize Israel as a country. We can thank President Truman for making this bold decision. For the intervening 70 years most of the nations still question their right to a homeland. The United Nations on a nauseating frequency writes condemnations of Israel for any and all reasons they can find to do so. Any reasonable person regardless of their religious beliefs should have at least a little sympathy for the few Jewish people existing today. There are six and one half million Jews living in Israel today. That nearly equals the six million who were systematically murdered by the Nazi regime in WWII. The total worldwide population in 2016 was estimated at only 14,410,000. Yesterday President Trump made a bold decision to recognize Jerusalem as the Capitol of Israel. He was immediately condemned by not only Muslim majority countries but also our so-called Allies in Europe as well as Russia and China. If this wasn’t so tragic it would be humorous. Every other country on Earth has the right to choose the location of their Capitol. The reason most often given is that Jerusalem belongs to the Palestinians. That is not true, nor has it ever been true. Three thousand years ago it was the Capitol of the Hebrews. After being expelled by Babylonia, they were finally allowed to return. There was a time when it was part of Jordan and later a British Mandate but always the Jews considered Jerusalem as their Capitol. In my opinion there are two reasons why the nations refuse to recognize this fact. I- They have not ever accepted that Israel is a nation. They consider them as conquerors of Palestinian lands and therefore illegitimate. 2- They fear the response of Muslims around the world and the chaos that might result. We are holding our breath over this. My thoughts are that if they do they will be showing their true nature as religious intolerant people who hate the Jewish people going all the way back to when they refused to convert as Mohammad demanded and were slaughtered as a result. I have done everything I can to read and learn about Islam. I have just finished two semesters of OLLI classes on this subject. The more I learn the more I am convinced that it is time to put these ancient beliefs and conflicts aside and start working together to create a just and equitable society for all people while allowing everyone to worship as he or she desires. Jack B. Walters December 7, 2017