In light of encouraging developments in Israel and disturbing developments in the United States, we will not resume the protest vigils in Jerusalem. We will focus our activity opposite the White House and again raise the demand for Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.
For three weeks we, representatives of over twenty different organizations with love for the Land of Israel and Jerusalem in common, gathered and held a joint protest rally against the American demand to open a consulate for the Palestinians in the heart of Jerusalem.
A long line of public figures from Israel and the United States made clear, profound, and sharp statements regarding the political implications of the American demand; recognition of Jerusalem as destined for partition, G-d forbid, in order to establish in it the capital of a Palestinian state, which the Biden government seeks to establish.
We would like to express our great appreciation to all those who partnered with us in this important demonstration.
The demand asserted by the protest vigil was divided into two parts. The first part is directed to the Israeli government in Jerusalem and the second part to the American administration in Washington.
The response to the first part of the protest, which received significant public support from the Jewish people in Israel and abroad, was welcome and positive. The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister unequivocally declared that the Israeli government opposes establishment of the consulate and that Jerusalem is the sole, united capital of the State of Israel, and its capital alone.
However, we must continue to take action to generate a proper response to our second demand, the one directed to the White House; to recognize Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem in its entirety, to respect Israeli law that does not permit partition of the city, to abide by American law that likewise prohibits recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of any entity other than Israel, and to remain loyal to the long-standing alliance and friendship with the State of Israel.
This demand has not yet been met.
The Biden administration is still seeking in every way possible to establish a Palestinian state whose capital is Jerusalem, and considers this blueprint as the political solution necessary to resolve the Israeli-Arab conflict.
That is why we have decided not to continue, at present, the protest rallies in Jerusalem and to focus our activity and attention on Washington and what is happening there.
For all intents and purposes, the Israeli government is standing with us and we are standing with it in the face of American pressure, and we will do so with the help of our friends overseas.
Together with friends in Washington who see the connection between the people of Israel and their country eye-to-eye with us, friends loyal to the historic alliance between Israel and the United States, we will track any step that is suspected of promoting partition of Jerusalem and establishing a terrorist state in Israel's heartland.
Together with them we will block any action liable to compromise Israel’s sovereignty over its capital, we will strengthen circles that will continue to expand in the United States, and, they, too, will demand from the leadership in the White House to respect its most loyal ally in the Middle East and to acknowledge the biblical tradition that grants the people of Israel, and to them alone, sovereignty over Jerusalem.
Among those volunteering to spearhead the activity in Washington, it is fitting to commend first of all our friends at AFSI and ZOA who held a rally simultaneously to the rally in Jerusalem last week, and we also thank our friend Dr.Joe Frager, who works tirelessly to block the American demand. Frager is currently consolidating calls and commitments from congressmen and senators supporting the unity of Jerusalem and opposing the opening of the consulate.
Together with members of Congress and influential American and Jewish elements, we will also exercise leverage, political and other kinds, on President Biden himself, too, demanding that Israel's sovereignty over Jerusalem not be compromised.
Parallel with this activity in the American arena, our movement, the Sovereignty Movement, will resume promoting, leveraging and restoring the vision of sovereignty to the public and political consciousness.
These days, when ministers are flocking to the Muqataa for talks with the Palestinian Authority chairman, when an Israeli government minister travels to Oslo on a fundraising campaign for the Palestinian economy, when the chairman of the United Arab Party has a meeting with the king of Jordan, which, among other topics, according to various media reports, addressed the matter of "peace" negotiations, we must not abdicate the arena to the Left, which is promoting its dangerous and catastrophic plans.
It is incumbent upon us to again proudly brandish the banner of Sovereignty, to bolster the public’s sovereignty consciousness, while at the same time promoting every possible step to advance sovereignty, even in the present complex government.
Based on this approach, we will again call to first advance the Greater Jerusalem Plan and the Jordan Valley Plan. These two areas, Jerusalem and its environs and the Jordan Valley, are subject to a broad national consensus that includes large sections of the Zionist Left.
Even if at present, it is difficult for the Israeli government to promote the application of sovereignty over the Land of Israel in its entirety, it must promote construction in the areas of consensus, among them, Gush Etzion, Ma'ale Adumim and the Jordan Valley.
This Zionist spirit of construction and settlement will inject a spirit of greatness into the citizens of Israel who expect leadership that leads and initiates, and will connect the people to their country with bonds of love and creativity.
In the spirit of Ben-Gurion's statement that what matters is what the Jews do, not what the gentiles say, we will cite here the words of former ambassador David Friedman on the necessity to arrive at a decision regarding Judea and Samaria: "Talk about what is important, Judea and Samaria, discuss it. Israel has an eastern border that should be determined not by the United Nations or by the United States, but by Israel. That is democracy and I believe that were Israel itself to decide for itself what it wants, what is good for it, the world would respect it. One of the reasons that the world, ostensibly does not respect you, is because they do not see anyone in Israel making a collective decision from a position of strength and democracy. No one will respect you if you do not respect yourselves. The decision need not be unanimous; typically, in a democracy, decisions are not made that way. However, avoiding discussion leads to a vacuum, which will be filled by other elements; and that is not good” (Makor Rishon, November 12, 2021).
Yehudit Katsover & Nadia Matar are the co-founders and co-chairwomen of the Sovereignty movement