Embassies should not be in Tel Aviv

Amid the clamour to condemn US President Donald Trump for wanting to move the United States embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, thus recognising Israel's claim since 1949 for Jerusalem to be its capital city, no-one questions how absurd it is for all of these world embassies to be in Tel Aviv at any rate as it is not Israel's capital.

That would be like insisting on having an embassy in Birmingham instead of London, or in Ireland’s case, in Limerick instead of Dublin.

The Palestinian Arabs (as Jews were ‘Palestinian’ too before 1948) claim the Old City of Jerusalem also as their ‘eternal’ capital of a future Palestinian (Arab Muslim) state as if it was their Divine right, when in fact there never existed an Arab Palestinian capital there ever, never mind an Arab Palestinian state.

The geographical area of Biblical Israel renamed as ‘Palestine’ by the Romans as a slur against the Jews after they forcibly ejected the Jews in 135AD was occupied by various foreign forces, including the Turks for 400 years until 1917, then the British until 1947, then Jordan illegally occupied East Jerusalem until 1967, when Israel miraculously won a war in six days with multiple Arabs armies meted against them.

None of these governances were Arab Palestinian, but 3,000 years ago you have records of King David ruling Jerusalem as a Jewish city.

The Bible predicts that Jerusalem will be at the centre of the world’s attention with the solemn warning found in Zechariah 12:2, “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people; all who would heave it away will be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.”

We could be living in the days of Armageddon.

Colin Nevin, Bangor, Chef, Hilton Tel Aviv, Israel 1991-2002