View of the US Embassy in Jerusalem's Arnona neighborhood, Israel,
View of the US Embassy in Jerusalem's Arnona neighborhood, Israel,Noam Revkin Fenton/Flash90

Two hundred Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to President Joe Biden opposing the White House’s plan to reopen the American consulate general for Palestinian Authority Arabs in Jerusalem.

The letter, signed by the Republican House leadership and all but 12 GOP members, was written by Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus and one of only two Jewish Republicans in Congress.

The letter stated that reopening the consulate general in Jerusalem would be “inconsistent with the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 by promoting the division of Jerusalem. This would be unacceptable, shameful, and wrong.”

It noted that during his time in the Senate, Biden supported the Jerusalem Embassy Act that expressly stated that U.S. policy was that “Jerusalem should remain an undivided city in which the rights of every ethnic and religious group are protected” and that “Jerusalem should be recognized as the capital of the State of Israel.”

It went on to state that “your proposal would also be inconsistent with the strong bipartisan support that has been reaffirmed in recent years for the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995.”

The letter continued: “Reopening the U.S. consulate general in Jerusalem would reward and turn a blind eye to the Palestinian Authority engaging in real obstacles to peace” including “refusing to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state,” supporting terrorism, encouraging the BDS movement, and “facilitating an illegitimate Criminal Court (ICC) investigation for false charges against Israel.”

They also urged Biden to respect Israel’s opposition to the reopening of the consulate, including expressed opposition from Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and previously from former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Zeldin, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Michael McCaul (R-TX) issued a statement upon sending the letter to Biden.

“House Republicans have come together to express our strong opposition to the Biden Administration’s proposal to open a consulate general to the Palestinians in Israel’s eternal capital, Jerusalem,” they said. “The Biden Administration's shameful move would have the unconscionable effect of undermining the United States' recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and signal support for dividing Jerusalem. Just recently, the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority publicly stated that his reason for wanting this consulate opened is for the purpose of dividing Jerusalem.”

They added: “Israel has also made clear its opposition to the consulate opening, with both the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister stating they are against a consulate being opened in Jerusalem. The Biden Administration must immediately stop pushing this misguided effort. Moreover, the administration’s insistence is wrongly creating a rift between the United States and Israel, one of our closest and most important allies, and moves the region further away from peace.”