By DOVID BEN-MEIR
This post is written from a spiritual-moral point of view, not real-politics and not socio-economics. So if your cup of tea is that spirituality doesn't exist or doesn't exist as a crucial factor in political decisions, whether consciously or subconsciously – this post is not for you, so just skip it! If you do think there is a metaphysical aspect to life that affects us, either consciously or subconsciously, or if your curiosity has been stirred – read on!Why is there a resistance in the world to moving embassies from Tel Aviv to Yerushalayim, or Jerusalem as it's known in English? After all – even the Palestinian Authority officially claims East Jerusalem as its capital (a non-existent city for a non-existing state for a never-existed people); West Jerusalem has been Israel's capital almost since its birth. Not from birth – because at Israel's birth the Arabs held the 100,000 Jews of Jerusalem in a siege, during which no food, water or medical supplies were allowed through the Arab blockade of the city. Only after the siege was lifted by the Israeli Defense Forces could the government establish Jerusalem as the capital. So why isn't (at least) West Jerusalem recognized as Israel's capital?Tel Aviv is mistakenly thought to be just another typical city representing Western culture. The inclination to relate to Tel Aviv as the capital of Israel, and not Jerusalem, is like saying that one is prepared to recognize, de facto, the "state of Tel Aviv", but not the "state of Jerusalem".The illusionary "state of Tel Aviv" is a modern creation without roots going farther back than 1948. It is a state established for the poor, unfortunate Jews who suffered centuries of persecution culminating in the Holocaust. It has no vision beyond a shadow of Western culture that created it in order to assuage a guilt felt, momentarily, because of the Holocaust.The "state of Jerusalem" represents the religious, moral and spiritual ideal of the Jewish Nation, from its inception close to four thousand years ago. It is the state of David and the Psalms, of Temples, prophets and judges, of the Bible and the Jewish Law and Ethics, of the soul of the Jewish people and our raison d'etre and spiritual raison d'etat. The "state of Jerusalem" is the realization of ancient prophecy and historical justice of returning the land to the indigenous people – the Jews.Muslims refuse to recognize any Jewish state in any shape or size. They certainly do not wish to recognize the Jewish state as expressed in Jerusalem, because they believe that Islam supersedes and indeed cancels all other religions. But if the Jews return to the Holy City and the city is returned to Jewish sovereignty – that means Islam is incorrect in calling Judaism a cancelled religion.Many Christian sects refuse to recognize any Jewish state, certainly not the Jewish state as expressed in Jerusalem, because consciously or sub-consciously they – like Islam – believe in replacement theology, that the Jews are meant to be eternally wandering, no longer spiritually relevant to the world. Jewish renaissance and sovereignty in Jerusalem negates that theology.Many in the West refuse to recognize Israel of Jerusalem because they, too, refuse to recognize the fulfilling of prophecies that foretold the return of the Jewish people, an event that would extend more credence to the Bible and its moral code, which they wish to reject.These thoughts may be in people's minds, or not, but they are more likely to be so deeply submerged as to be subconscious.The "state of Jerusalem" is the state of the Jewish People, from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob who became Israel, to today; the state of the Bible, prophecy, King David and the Psalms, King Solomon and the Temple. It is the state of the prophetic vision of a future when: "the mountain of the Lord's house shall be firmly established… and all the nations shall stream to it… and… say, 'Come, let us go up to the Lord's mount, to the house of the God of Jacob, and let Him teach us of His ways, and we will go in His paths', for out of Zion shall Torah come forth, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem… and they shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift the sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore".Moving embassies to Jerusalem would represent movement both morally and spiritually uplifting, bringing good tidings to humanity. By the way: Tel Aviv? it really means the spring that is built on ancient foundations - the "tel" being a mound left by an ancient city. The real roots of Tel Aviv are also in Jerusalem.