A few observations from Jerusalem today, where I watched the jubilant festivities around the U.S. embassy opening while watching reports of intense violence in Gaza: [1/x]
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1. The Jerusalem embassy opening is just one more entry into a week--a lifetime--of wrestling over the narrative of Israel, and of this city. [2/x]
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2. Israelis don't care that much. They had Yom Yerushalayim yesterday, the celebration of Jewish reentry into the Old City and other parts of Jerusalem in 1967. [3/x]
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2a. I watched Israelis--mostly young yeshiva boys--joyfully march through the Damascus Gate and the Muslim Quarter yesterday. This, if anything, was the more meaningful display of one group claiming ownership of Jerusalem. [4/x]
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3. Americans--Zionist and anti-Zionist--care a lot. U.S. evangelicals are a huge part of why the embassy got moved, and their influence was evident in the opening ceremony. [5/x]
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4. I spoke with Pastor @robertjeffress about the criticisms he's gotten--especially from @MittRomney. “I think it’s sad that Mitt would rush out and [speak] in anger like this on such a historic day as this," Jeffress said.
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5. But the biggest dissonance is the narrative out of Gaza and the narrative of the embassy opening. Today has been a hugely violent day on the border, and tomorrow will likely be worse.
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5a. It's a mistake to think that the March of Return in Gaza is just about the embassy opening. But timing is everything, and the U.S. chose to open it embassy close to Nakba Day, Yom Yerushalayim, and Ramadan.
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So here's my look at everything that's happening here: The violence in Gaza, Trump's big embassy decision, and America's latest entry into the battle over narratives in Jerusalem. [/fin]
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