NEW YORK — President Donald Trump is “actively considering” how to follow through on his pledge to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, Vice President Mike Pence said Tuesday, reopening a divisive question that puts the president at odds with military and diplomatic advisers and close allies.
Pence drew whoops and applause at an event marking 70 years since the United Nations vote that led to creation of the state of Israel when he contrasted the Trump administration stance on the embassy to that of past U.S. administrations.
“While for the past 20 years, Congress and successive administrations have expressed a willingness to move our embassy, as we speak, President Donald Trump is actively considering when and how to move the American Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem,” Pence said.
Congress mandated in 1995 that the embassy be relocated from Tel Aviv, the commercial hub, to disputed Jerusalem. Each president since has deferred the move, citing national security risks. Trump did the same in June, setting aside a campaign promise to immediately order the relocation. He acted, reluctantly, on advice from Cabinet heads, Jordanian King Abdullah II and others who argued the move could ignite violence among Palestinians and their supporters who claim part of Jerusalem as a future capital.
